We have all made it through the crazy hecticness of the holidays. We’ve started a new year. Life is sweet. Or at least it should be. But then many folks are back to work with too many demands pulling in too many directions. Sometimes we just need to be reminded to take a deep breath, to inhale, exhale … and repeat as necessary. I found this story. It invited me to smile. It invited me to take a deep breath, to inhale, exhale and repeat even as I smiled. Because if we are still breathing, we are so lucky.
“Honey, would you drop the kids off at school this morning? I’ve got a lot of shopping to do and errands to run.”
“Well, dear, I’ve got a pretty hectic day myself (sigh) … OK I’ll do it. But hurry, up kids!”
So Dad and his children jump into the car and they’re off. The busy father glances at his watch. “Why is traffic so slow this morning? Certainly people should drive safely, not speed, but this little old man in front of us must be sight-seeing! I’ll pass him as soon as I can… take a short cut maybe … Oh, no!!”
Wouldn’t you know it! The car approaches a railroad crossing just as the lights begin to flash and the safety gate comes down. Dad’s first thought: “Darn it! We’re going to be held up by a train and be late.”
So, as Dad is fuming in the front seat, anxiously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, reviewing, in his mind, how to make up some time … a sweet, childish voice calls out from the backseat: “Daddy, Daddy, we’re so lucky! We get to watch the train go by!”
Source | Based on a story told by Jerry Braza, Moment by Moment
(Tuttle Publishing,1997) page 3
CONSIDER THIS
Awareness of the present moment is always a wonderful reminder to stop and enjoy what the journey has to offer along the way. Often the “now”, called by some “the sacrament of the present moment” or “the Sacrament of the blessed present”, is filled with many gifts if we have the eyes to see, the ears to really listen.
From Philip Chircop’s Wisdom Stories to Live by
JustAlchemy 