The One I Usually Miss

Oft have I written on today’s theme, but it just happened to nudge it’s way back up to the top of the pile. We are all so busy, trying to get everything done and everyone taken care of, that life slips right by us sometimes. All the more so this time of year, without daylight savings time, when it seems as if I commute to work both directions in the dark and miss many a beautiful autumn day altogether. Countless sunsets go unnoticed while I try to accomplish a few more seemingly important tasks at the office. Meanwhile, bits of life slowly drift away like so much flotsam and jetsam in the great ocean experience. Do you ever feel that way, like you’re just a little out of control and run right past some amazing things you wish you could stop for? Every once in a while, I’ll pause to catch the sunset and think, "Why don’t I do this every day?" Most of those days just rush right by. Kids grow older. We grow older ... while a thousand little opportunities drift away because we were too busy to enjoy them. Today, however, would be a good day to make a change. Go home a little early. Take a walk. Get down on the floor and play with the kids. Fly a kite. Pray. Whatever. Take hold of those moments you cherish and try not to let all of them slip from your grasp. It’s your life, after all, and you have the right to live it. Have a great day ... and don’t forget to savor every moment!

The One I Usually Miss
Today, I stopped to watch the sunset
The one I usually miss
But there it was, like every day
Though I rarely stop like this
In fact, I really had no choice
So perfect was the scene
A man would be a fool to pass
On such a moment so serene
Far too often, I’ve been a fool
Letting life just pass me by
How many sunsets have I wasted
I ponder with a loathsome sigh
How much beauty, how much wonder
How many perfect, pristine days
Have I been too busy to notice
And cast heedlessly away
How areas of my life
Indeed, have suffered so
How many chances have I wasted
To watch my children grow
How many neighbors have walked past
When there was the chance to be
To be the very friend they needed
So very much has slipped by me
I must pause like this more often
And take each opportunity
To find the wonder in my life each day
Before it slips by me
By Frank Carpenter ©