Photo by Jean Cather, snjm & Mary Alice Hein, snjmSan Francisco, California
Sometimes the angels weep not because we have died but because we didn’t live. Recently, a long forgotten file appeared in the studio labeled “E-mail keepers”. I was about to throw it in the trash but something stopped me. A little voice said, “Take five minutes and make sure there’s nothing in there worth keeping.” I have learned to listen to that little voice.
In March of 1999 we received this e-mail from a brilliant woman named Lucy who, at the time, was a "jewel in the crown" of the event planning/fund raising department at the University of Missouri in Rolla. Her e-mail speaks to us today just as clearly as it did eight years ago! We're sure this message, in some form or another, continues to circulate through cyberspace (at least we hope it does). You’ve heard it all before but it’s worth the two minutes to read it again…your Guardian Angel just might be watching.
“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together or when we get the promotion. When we get a nicer car or are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire.
The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. A favorite quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin, real life, but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first; some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”
This perspective helps us see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you loose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until your parents approve, until you get married, until you make a lot of money, until you’re famous, until you have kids, until you get a new home or a new car, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until the first or fifteenth, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you die.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don’t need money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
And dance like no one’s watching. “
In March of 1999 we received this e-mail from a brilliant woman named Lucy who, at the time, was a "jewel in the crown" of the event planning/fund raising department at the University of Missouri in Rolla. Her e-mail speaks to us today just as clearly as it did eight years ago! We're sure this message, in some form or another, continues to circulate through cyberspace (at least we hope it does). You’ve heard it all before but it’s worth the two minutes to read it again…your Guardian Angel just might be watching.
“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together or when we get the promotion. When we get a nicer car or are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire.
The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. A favorite quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin, real life, but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first; some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”
This perspective helps us see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you loose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until your parents approve, until you get married, until you make a lot of money, until you’re famous, until you have kids, until you get a new home or a new car, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until the first or fifteenth, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you die.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don’t need money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
And dance like no one’s watching. “
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