Remember...Stop and Smell the Roses!

By Stephen C. Schultz

The breeze was warm as it swirled past me making the short sleeves of my tee shirt ripple in the wind. The sun was just starting to peak over the mountain top. Yet, it had been light for a couple of hours already. When you are at the base of a 10,000 foot mountain, it takes a while for any direct sun light to appear.

Since it is Saturday, my ritual is usually edging the lawn and then mowing it. As I came around the side of the house to mow, I saw some roses that are in an over grown flower bed that is home to various ground cover plants and untamed varieties of flora that I have no idea what they are.

Our home was built in the late 1800’s by the local County Sheriff. There are flowers and plants that sprout up in the spring time that I have never seen before. There are even some plants coming up every year that I thought were weeds…then this year I was too busy to keep up with the weeding and they blossomed into beautiful little blue colored flowers! Who’d have guessed?

The light was shining through some tree limbs and glancing off the leaves and petals of the roses. I actually thought to myself,

“I’m going to stop and smell the roses.”

I have to admit, with my allergies and the wind blowing, I didn't smell much. But, I did get some pictures you can see on this page.

While the flowers are pretty, they aren't the purpose of this post. They did start me thinking, however. Are we so busy that we don’t stop and enjoy the subtle pleasures of life? Do we move from one activity to the next, always in a hurry? Are we stressed about how we look, what we drive or what others think about us?

If so…why?

If not…why?

As adults, have we forgotten the innocence and wonder of playing as a child? You can read a few of my childhood experiences here, here and here. Do we live in the present, or are we locked in the past or worried about the future? The only place we can make a difference is in “the here and now”!

Remember…Stop and Smell the Roses!

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