Dear Reader:

Yesterday as I ran several errands returning to a hot car after each completion, I, once again, wished the future would push the present out more rapidly, so Fall would return faster with cooler weather. The stage is already set for this season with students back in school, the high schools starting their football seasons and the colleges getting ready to begin their schedules this weekend.

Everything is in place except cool weather…( or even just cooler weather.)

And yet, when I water the garden each evening…all the flowers, bushes, and trees are patiently awaiting their nourishment and happy to see me. The garden makes me feel ridiculous some times for wanting to speed life up, with all its seasons. After all ….this is my life that is flying by.

My mindset needs to be that of nature…just like Ralph Waldo Emerson quoted in the title picture.  Just keep carrying on and changes will come when they are supposed to, not before nor after. Everything will turn out okay in the end….just enjoy the time right now.

A new mindset on time and our role in it, prioritizes what we should most cherish and slowly savor.

*Life is better when we move in a slower, more relaxed pace. To get the most out of each moment slow down, don’t speed up.

*Think about it….is a book better speed-reading it, or getting totally immersed and lost in it?

* Is a song better if you skim or change channels through it, or stop and really listen?

*Is food more enjoyable if we swallow it whole, tasting nothing, or taking time to savor every bite and flavor?

*Is work more enjoyable if we multi-task to the point that we are constantly running around with our heads cut off…never finishing one project before we start another or concentrating on one important meaningful task?

*Is time spent with close friends and family members more memorable if you have a rushed lunch, staring at your watch, emails and text messages, or if you relax and focus on the other person?

*Life is better savored and seasonably flavored by time spent making memories to keep us warm at night with a smile on our faces.

You might have noticed that Asheville, North Carolina has started a televised public video campaign to attract more tourists to Asheville. I couldn’t help but notice that the ending statement to the commercial concluded:

“Some people take on life….others take life easy.” The message infers that you have to make a choice….indicating that you are either an observer or a participant.

From my own experiences in life….I think you can do both….participate in life but do it at a leisurely pace. It is better to see less with more intensity that to see more with shallow remembrances.

So until tomorrow….Choose a new mindset carefully by prioritizing the most important aspects of life you want to spend time on. Don’t rush this assignment….it provides the portal to a new world of understanding. (Watch nature…it intuitively knows its role in life and paces itself accordingly…each minute, hour, and day of its life.)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

“It’s the little young lady from Pasadena”.…Jake has his helmet on and is hanging on tight….while his big sis drives with her knees.

“This adorable acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.” (The gene pool pace of nature!)