Do you ever kind of snap out of your daily routine and pose the question, "Am I really a parent? Or have I really been married for ten years?" I do every now and then. I feel like I wake up for a few minutes, from the ever-lasting dream that is my life, and reflect on what I have accomplished. That is how it feels sometimes. I hate to say it, there are times when I feel like the bystander, watching myself tread through life. Someone might accuse me of not being happy, or anything else along those lines, but he or she would be completely mistaken. Sometimes I wonder if I am not really living my life. Am I letting precious little moments pass by without much thought, only to leave me with regrets in the end?
I just want to encourage people to take a look at his or her lives, and reflect on whether he or she is just a bystander watching life happen, or if he or she is actively and knowingly taking life for a ride. There are countless duties that each adult has to accomplish each day. There are dishes to be washed, diapers to be changed, bathrooms to scrub clean, bills to pay, and a career to fulfill. Whatever it is that is weighing on the mind, someone has to take care of it. But why does our lives have to revolve around waking up, getting to work, then going to bed to do the same thing the next day? I believe that this is where the autopilo
t comes in. Each day we have most of the same to do, with few changes. Just because we have responsibilities, we do not need to put off anything else that can bring us joy.
Revolve your day around your kids waking up from a nap, or you husband/wife coming home from work. Try to do whatever you can to make that reunion special. What we are all taking for granted might be the only things that matter in the end. Love and family cannot be replaced by any possession. As a human race, we tend to forget our most precious things when our lives are good and prosperous. Sometimes it takes a truly humbling experience to shake us awake out of our monotonous trance. Then we remember the wonderful things that we have in our relationships with others. Friends that have stood by us, or family that never stopped believing in each other can be the fuel that gets us going again. After the trial is conquered, we stand tall and strong, having learned and remembered what is important.
We each have a choice. That is our God given right. But what do we choose? Do we choose to sit on the sidelines and let life happen to us? Or do we, like the saying says, and "take the bull by the horns?" Let's live with all awareness that whatever we do or say cannot be taken back. Think of that child sleeping in the other room, and when he or she wakes up, give him or her a great big hug, and say, "I love you!" Those are the moments that your loved ones will remember!
