Maggie's Thought for the Week: Take Time to Smell the Flowers

Where is everybody going? It must be somewhere important, because everyone is trying to get 'there' as quickly as possible. Everyone, that is, except me.

I don't rush. I don't speed walk. I don't answer my phone every time it rings. I don't check my email the moment my i-phone goes swish. It's not because I'm busy getting somewhere. Sometimes, I'm not going anywhere.

When people respond 'You're odd...that's not the norm', I respond- 'You never walked a dog.'  When I walked Maggie on the trails, she would stop at every flower, gaze at every insect and watch the ducks in the pond for hours. I would observe other hikers listening to their i-pods, pulling on their dog's leash to keep their fast pace, or chatting with a friend without hearing the music of the waterfalls.

Take a moment to stop and look at the beauty that surrounds you, hear the sounds of everything living and enjoy the moment that will never be breathed again.  'Our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.' Don Williams, Jr.