Have you all noticed that you SAVOR life more?

**cab54** · 10-17-2009, 12:52 PM

Do you notice the green Summers more and the smell of new-mown grass? Do you look at the Fall colors a little longer with more of an appreciation of what a beautiful display this is? Do you listen to the silence when the snow is all around and the HUSH gets your attention? The new Spring flowers look more vibrant to you?

I have come to realize as I'm in the mid-50's.....that my days are truly numbered (even if I live to 100), that there are more important things than the little irritations of life, That it's time to look...smell....listen....feel. To smile, laugh, love....

Do any of you feel that way? Do you take more time to savor, to get all the marrow out of life? (ole Walt Whitman easn't THAT crazy).

I find myself going more with the ebb and flow of life----savoring the fruits and vegetables that are in season, really FEELING the changes and the climate.

**ml2620** · 10-17-2009, 02:03 PM

How beautiful cab! You are truly blessed.

**Pemberleyan** · 10-17-2009, 02:07 PM

Well, yes and no. I'm 47 and am only too aware that my youth is over, that time with older relatives is limited, etc. Your question reminds me of a vacation I went on several years ago. A relative had generously invited me along on a trip to the Caribbean. I knew that for me it was probably the vacation of a lifetime and I really savored it, the beauty of the scenery and nature, etc. and have such fond memories of that trip.

It also comes with a bit of sadness, knowing that many plans, dreams and hopes will remain unfulfilled. I am trying, instead, to be thankful for the tremendous blessings I've had in life.

**cab54** · 10-17-2009, 02:42 PM

I know what you mean baout that, Pemberleyan. I always wanted to go to Europe, wanted to see the Louvre, the Irish countryside.....so many things.

My sons went to Europe (twice!) and I was so glad for them, not the least bit jealous or anything. Now, I feel OK with the idea I may never see other parts of the world. I've had a lot of good things.

**Missourimom** · 10-17-2009, 03:00 PM

That really was a beautiful post and what life really IS all about.

**sabrelvssammy** · 10-17-2009, 03:37 PM

what a great post cheryl....

i think i have begun to slow down a little more (notice i didn't say 'stop'...i don't think i am quite there yet)....but i have begun to notice things that i used to just 'run right by'...the old adage 'if it was a snake it would have bit you' certainly held true for my own life....rush, rush, rush.....my whole life i have lived in a 'whirlwind' and alot of it has rushed by me...my own personal motto was get as much done in as short of time period as possible...(and unfortunately this didn't usually include 'play')....i felt guilty 'stopping to smell the roses' and had a firm belief that a 'rolling stone gathers no moss'....well it sure doesn't but the more it rolls and rolls the more it will begin to wear down until there is nothing left of it in the end... i failed to get that part of the lesson in...

i don't know if its age now (i'm 44) if i have become 'more mature' and this just happens to us or if its been 'life events'....i lost my dad 3 yrs ago and if ever there was an individual on this earth that knew 'how to smell the roses' it was him.... but of course at the time i didn't realize that in him....to me he was 'my dad'...take it or leave it, good or bad.... i was in charge of doing the eulogy at his service (my other family members voted me....imagine that...? big mouth...) and as i prepared this 'tribute' that i have never done anything like before i unraveled and began to look at his life from another view, i realized 'what a neat person he really was'.....he never lost the desire to learn and explore (he was a scientist) and his life was filled to the brim with continuing education (and i'm not talking about going to the local community college and taking a class)...i'm talking about going to other countries and taking a class ...traveling all over the world but never in a sense that you or i probably would have....his curiosity was amazing....and i failed to see it for all that it was....he volunteered for just about anything and everything (in fact he was given the 'volunteer of the year award' in Indpls a few yrs back...big banquet in his honor and awards....

the last year he was alive (he got cancer and he went pretty quickly so he was very active until the end)...but that year he flew to Transylvania and trekked around the countryside with all the locals...staying where they did, eating what they ate, doing what they did.... and my mom never got into this type of 'strange activities' that she like to refer them as- so she talked me into going to las vegas with her while he was off in this bizarre place....and now....I could just KICK myself for not going with him...to Transylvania, to just about any of the other exotic places that he ran off to...(and i was always invited...).... it's not just about the part that i squandered time that could have been spent with my father....it's also about not appreciating the world and all its wonder like he did until it was too late...and now he is gone and what is left behind is me...someone who would have soon stepped over the flower than stopped to look at it's amazing colors, textures and the simple fact that it even exists...

and i think that was a big turning point for me....i realized that life is so unfair at times...and i was quite angry at god for quite awhile that he would take someone that so appreciated all his marvels (even the smallest virtually un-noticeable ones) and leave behind someone else that could just as cared less...my dad wasn't finished living his life (he was a robust 75) and he had more and bigger plans for the future that there is no doubt he would have carried out...

so i think these past couple of years i have dissected it over and over and come to terms with the whole thing and that i am somehow supposed to pick up where he left off... 2 yrs ago i started planning my first 'adventure' trip to a country where we couldn't speak the language, had to dress down to blend in, and everything we needed would be gotten from the packs we carried from place to place....then i had to convince dh of the whole thing....(that was harder than planning the logistics of the whole trip) but i perservered and i won out in the end and we took a trip what i would call 'of a lifetime' but i don't plan on stopping there so i can't actually refer to it as such....but it was amazing, we saw things that we normally wouldn't have...we did things that we would have been frightened to do before....and we lived to tell about it all....

and when we returned back to the states and got back into the 'normalcy' of our lives i realized that i was starting to look at things differently...i was noticing things that had been there all along that i never saw before....and i realized that i had 'begun to stop and 'smell' the roses)..... hence the beginning stages of the rest of my life....the pairing down of the posessions, the living within my means, the living on less is more values, the adoption of the frugal village.....once i removed all the 'internal & external 'clutter' from my life was i really able to begin to 'see'..... and i wish i had not squandered all those years before me and found this 'enlightenment' years ago...i wish i had told my father 'yes' just once....BUT.... hopefully i have many more fruitful years ahead of me to be able to 'truly live' and enjoy this life that was given to me...and hopefully this is truly a 'lesson learned' and not just a 'life phase' that i somehow end up growing out of because if you CAN really learn to stop and smell the roses....they are actually pretty darn cool.....

**gapeach** · 10-17-2009, 08:14 PM

I made it a point to slow down about 4 years ago. I've seen life so differently since then. It's no longer material things that bring a smile to my face but the laughter of a child, my roses blooming, watching our dogs run around and play (I truly believe we can learn alot from our pets), a hug from my husband and a phone call from a dear friend.

**Pemberleyan** · 10-17-2009, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by cab54

I know what you mean baout that, Pemberleyan. I always wanted to go to Europe, wanted to see the Louvre, the Irish countryside.....so many things.

Me, too! It used to be my dream to travel to Yorkshire to visit the James Herriot museum, and London and Ireland. The best I can do is rent travel videos on Netflix and various British movies and television.

**PrairieRose** · 10-17-2009, 08:37 PM

Absolutely. For me, there are still lots of daily things to be done around my empty nest, over seeing my dad's well being is also a responsibility that I've taken on but I do more of what I want to do in a day's time than I ever have before, although not as much as I long to do.....but that day is coming too. I do appreciate everything a LOT more than I ever have before.....all the little things that I never used to notice. I think it's the 'coming of age' thing for me as well as a bit of a spiritual journey.

**mauimagic** · 10-17-2009, 11:13 PM

Love this thread - mahalo for creating it cab!! I totally agree with the awareness and the appreciation 0 there are days that I still get into whirlwinds - but then fortunately come to my senses and relax and enjy!! I find myself asking "How important is this really?" and I am appreciative of my answers!!

I am thankful that I do not regret anything I have or have not done, but am glad that I can grow from where I am.

Don't you think that we are all going through the process of living as we are supposed. Youth isn't wasted on the young - it's all part of their process of living.

**Lora88** · 10-18-2009, 04:51 AM

I can so relate I find myself with more of an inner peace than I had when I was younger Every day has something special in it and I find I am thankful to be alive. Something I never thought of when I was younger. Perhaps God in his infinate wisdom makes up for the loss of youth by giving us insight and peace

**Sassyclass** · 10-18-2009, 06:46 PM

I'm kind of the oddball here. This is pretty much how I have always been. I have always been a nature lover, noticed the little things, like watching a spider making its web, or a bird making its nest. It's part of my Indian heritage. My dad was like this, never worried about tomorrow and he was always outside feeding the animals, hunting, or sitting on a tree stump whittling or playing his harmonica.I'm a home body. I can't stand the pushing and shoving of every day life. I love getting on our bike and going on the backroads just to see the scenery. I'm happy with where I am in my life. I may not have done all the things I wanted to do when I was young, but then I would not have my kids, or my husband as I would have gone down a completely different road. I'm not one to worry about growing old. I look forward to it. I don't care if my hair is turning gray, or I'm getting wrinkels, I earned every one of them. What I have noticed about myself is I have mellowed a little bit. I'm not as quick to speak my mind when someone does or says something that is rude, or just plain mean I hold my tongue more than when I was younger. Some things(people) just aren't worth wasting time on. I am still very stubborn in my opinions.

Cat