Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass … it’s about learning to dance in the rain!

Vivian Greene wrote that, and what could be more beautiful? Our world is full of so many opportunities, but we are usually moving so fast we can’t even see them. Seriously, when was the last time you jumped in a puddle of water? Do you remember the joy that could bring to you as a child? I remember once I went with my daughter to a local historical museum and one of the things they did that day was to actually make adobe bricks. I gladly took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pants and jumped into the mud pit mixing the straw with the mud and pulling the mixture out with my hands to fill the brick molds. By the end of the day, I was covered with mud. It was one of the best days of my adult life.

We have the power to keep a child’s zest within our lives. It is not the same thing as being childish. If we loose touch with those things around us that can give us joy, they will shrivel up and die, and take your joy with it. Do you remember the last time you received cut flowers? You were so happy, the love that came with those flowers. Did you put them on the center of the table and forget about them? Watching the pedals fall to the table within days, or did you go to them every day and make sure the water was fresh … did you let them give you the joy they carried? If you set them on the table and pretty much ignored them, I bet they withered and died within days – but the flowers that were tended and appreciated lived longer – so they could give you their gift of joy.

Our husband or wife is far more than a cut flower. Our children are far more than a cut flower. Our work, our vocations, our commitments are all more than cut flowers; yet they will all respond in the same way cut flowers respond if ignored.

Take time to smell the roses~

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard