Smelling the Roses...

I don't know if it's that I'm aging...or if it's a build up of busyness that fills our lives, but I have the overwhelming urge to stop and smell the roses (really smell them!), lay in the grass and stare at the clouds, sit in the sunshine and eat a Popsicle while telling jokes.

..just think about anything -- and nothing -- letting my cares go free for a moment or two...or three...

I was driving down the road the other day, and I spotted the most beautiful end-of-the-day cloud formation. It was pink and wispy, soft, and between it and the song I was listening to, it conjured up a dreamy feeling in my head, reminding me to "stop to smell the roses."

I remember a song when I was little -- maybe in kindergarten -- that was a part of a listening game. You had dance around like crazy while the song played and then, without knowing when, you would hear someone shout: STOP! and the music would stop and you would have to freeze. It was fun and a great tool in teaching the art of listening.

But, more than that, it encouraged the idea of just stopping...in all the energy and activity of the song, just ceasing to move for a moment.

That sunset reminded me of that song. It implored me to: STOP! and actually enjoy it.

Sometimes in the busyness of our lives -- school, work, chores -- we feel like we're dancing the crazy dance, trying to keep up with it all, trying to bring some saneness to the busyness around us by constantly moving with the tide of life.

And then, like in the song, something -- or someone -- shouts: STOP!

Are we listening?