Life can throw us quite a few curves and challenges. We never know when they’ll happen, but there may be something that comes up during the day that may cause us to feel sad or scared or angry or embarrassed.
Now that we’re starting back to school, some of us may feel scared about meeting new people, or learning new subjects or getting good grades. Petie worries every time he gets up to bat. He wonders if he will hit a homerun and help his team win a game. I worry about being bullied or made fun of, because I don’t feel like I fit in with other people my age very well. Tricia worries about making a good impression and being pretty and talented enough to be a star. It even happens to adults. My Mom just told me about her friend who found out that there’s a rumor being spread about her. She doesn’t know who started the rumor or why it even started especially since it’s not true. My Mom said her friend was crying and very upset.
I know it’s easier said than done, but it’s important to think positively, not negatively. Each day, we all need to find some time to just sit quietly and breathe consciously to quiet all the tension, worries, thoughts, fears, judgments and anger we may have toward others and even maybe towards ourselves. I like that saying “stop and smell the roses.” Last week, I was a bit wound up about going back to school, so I went for a walk in the Berkeley Rose Garden to stop and literally smell the roses.
I wondered where the phrase came from and found out that, in 1956, a professional golfer named Walter Hagen wrote a book (The Walter Hagen Story). In the book, he wrote something that is really good to remember, “I never hurry. I never worry. Always stop to smell the flowers along the way. It is later than you think.” I guess rose enthusiasts decided to change flowers to roses.
Ringo Starr titled his 8th album Stop and Smell the Roses. Originally, he wanted it called You Can’t Fight Lightning, but his long-time friend and band-mate from the Beatles, John Lennon, was murdered right before the album was to be released. In taking time to grieve and reflect, he decided to call the album Stop and Smell the Roses. Country music singer Mac Davis wrote a song called Stop and Smell the Roses in 1974. Some of the lyrics are, “There’s a whole lot more to life than work and worry, the sweetest things in life are free and they’re right before your eyes….”
So, when you’re feeling down and out of sorts, stop and take a breath. If you don’t have any roses around to smell, you can remember these words from the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely
and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
Here’s to happiness and peace.
You can listen to Mac Davis’ Stop and Smell the Roses by clicking here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHgfnO6Pkrg
To learn more about Walter Hagen, click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hagen
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Namaste ~ Patti
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