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A Story Worth
Reading
I had a very special teacher in
high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About
a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of
students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom
windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge
of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her
face, she paused and said, "Class is over. I would like to share with all of
you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very
important.
"Each of us, here on earth, learns,
shares, loves, appreciates and gives of him/herself. None of us knows when this
fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this
is one of God's ways of telling us that we must make the most out of every
single day."
Her eyes beginning to water, she
went on, "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way
to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't
have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked
bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze
slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches
one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.
"Please look for these things, and
cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the
'stuff' of life. The little things which we can enjoy. The things we often take
for granted.
We must make it important to notice them, for at anytime it can
all be taken away."
The class was completely quiet. We
all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I
noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole
semester.
Every once in a while, I think of
that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to
appreciate all of those
things that sometimes we all overlook.
Take notice of something special
you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot, or walk on the beach at sunset.
Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we
get older, is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we
didn't do.
Remember, life is not measured by
the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath
away.
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