by Jess Mostert
Life has a funny way of keeping us extremely busy and, in doing so, distracting us from what really matters. How many times do you find yourself wishing the week away, just to get to that weekend? Or wishing the weeks away to get to that long-awaited trip? Or even wishing the months away to our favourite time of the year- Christmas! All while missing the moments in between - missing the moments that really matter and count.
We are forever saying that there just aren’t enough minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week! We go weeks without seeing those that matter and doing the things we love- because ‘life got in the way’. But those are the moments we will never get back. Those are the moments that fulfil us and make this life worth living. We need to learn to slow down and enjoy every moment, every day, every week, every month and every year- each one we are given is a gift and we don’t know how many more gifts are in our pile!
So, maybe it is time to strip back the hecticness of life and look at what really matters to us… what little moments we want to get back, and just… enjoy this life we’ve been given!
Unfortunately, it normally takes drastic circumstances for us to see this and realise that we may be placing importance on all the wrong things. It normally comes in the face of loss- be it a job, divorce, friend, opportunity and worst of all, death. It is in these moments that we realise ‘life is short’, ‘make it count’, ‘spend time with those you love’, ‘tell those you love that you love them’. But why are we waiting for life to shock this into our system? We can choose to live this way, everyday!
There are so many emotions we feel on a daily basis, we don’t need to add regret to the pile.
According to BoredPanda (72 People’s Last Wishes That Will Make You Cry check it out here), these are some people’s last wishes:
“A Week Before My Grandfather Passed Away, I Snuck His Favorite Beer Into The Nursing Home For Him. It Was His Last Beer Ever.”
“Mom's Last Dance With My Dad The Night Before She Passed Away After A 15 Year Battle With Cancer.”
“Cancer-Stricken Son Holds Dying Dad's Hand One Last Time.”
“My Grandma Wanted To See The Ocean One Last Time Before Checking Into Hospice. Her Face Says It All.”
These are only a few examples, but they all have one thing in common… each ‘wish’ is a simple request; there are no grand gestures. These are every day MOMENTS taken for granted by most of us. It is only when we are forced to look at what really matters that we choose to take those moments back and enjoy them for what they really are!
It’s these moments and the people we spend them with that is all that counts at the end of the day, week, year and even your life…
So, I challenge you to slow down your life and examine how and where you spending your time. Are these moments passing you by?
Jess Mostert is a mom of two little boys with a background in Psychology, Special Needs Facilitating and Teaching. Her interest has always been people and her passion has always been helping. Most recently, after starting an Online Mind, Body and Wellness business with a friend, Jess registered as a Specialist Wellness Counsellor. Being a Specialist Wellness Counsellor is a way of life for Jess. She believes that wellness is our greatest tool in preventing illness, and our greatest asset to achieving happiness. It is her goal to share this vision and help people achieve contentment. www.connectablelife.com