Busy, way too busy, we need to slow down and smell the roses.

Busy, way too busy, we need to slow down and smell the roses.

When we get older, we are said to have acquired wisdom. In truth maybe what we have acquired is time. Time to slow down, time to think, time to appreciate the value and moment’s life has to offer. We have offered ourselves time to evaluate our lives, understand them. At that moment we don’t recall the details as vividly as when they just happened, what we do recall is the moment, that it did occur, some recollection of feeling and the associated consequence of our action. Older people are said to be wise because they have taken the time to catalog in their minds their experiences (actions) and their associated outcomes – consequences of those actions. They have experienced them, thought about them and now philosophically are able to talk about them without being tied to the emotion. They can speak of their experience without the associated feeling or emotion getting in the way of understanding. They have learned that the past is just that – past. They can’t change that, what they can change is the present and instead of being emotionally and physically tied to the past they have made up their minds to live in the present. They are not so much looking towards tomorrow because their tomorrows are numbered, they will come soon enough. They live for the moment, appreciated the past as a set of experiences that surrounded and defined their life. Older people have learned to live in the present, day by day, not looking towards the future for tomorrow will come soon enough. They have learned to not let the past dictate the present. When we look back on our lives, we do have a recollection of the good times and bad times, we can’t remember every detail. We start to evaluate those times in an attempt to gain some insight into our actions. Time has a way of suggesting to older people the necessity and need to teach the young. This worked this didn’t work for me. Something within them says it is time to educate the young, share with them some knowledge and insight of good and bad through their experiences. They take the time, make the time to think, to remember, to appreciate their past. They finally let go of the past. In order to justify the present and be happy in the present they let go of the past and don't look towards the future as the gigantic opportunity of growth and development. They don’t falsely lead themselves into believing they have all the time in the world to accomplish what the world has in store for them. They have come to the realization that what is important in life is not what you have, but what you do with what you have, what you know, the quality of their relationships, the strength of their faith, their health and lastly, they finally feel free of the burdens of society. They have stepped off the treadmill of life. If we stay on the treadmill, we will eventually get tired and need to get off. Everyone gets off the treadmill at different stages of life. You will have to get off sooner or later, nobody can stay on forever. The treadmill is filled with you need to… You should of'. You better do this, don’t forget to do that. Do you want independence and financial success? Do you want to leave a better life for your children? Do you want this and that's? How about retirements? It’s important to have… This, Look like this, Wear this, Do this, Be seen here, Eat this, Own this, Drive this, Send your kids there, Do this and that for your child's development and growth. Elderly people have not stopped living life. They have simply stopped trying to control it. Our futile attempt to control life brings us nothing but misery and pain, sadness and depression, fear and anxiety. Instead of living the life our Heavenly Father asks us to live we live the life the world suggests we live. We are bombarded by news print, TV, radio, books, schools, other men, sight, sounds, advertisements, magazines all telling us what we should do to live a happier more fulfilled life. We are informed That if we only looked like this, Had or owned that, Did this for a living, Sent our kids there for school, Took this kind of vacation, Owned these types of cars, Homes, Possessions, Read this or that, Did this or that, That we would be living up to what the worlds (conform) standards.

The problem is the standards change.

Heavenly Father tells us not to be blown to and fro by the winds of man. He also instructs us that if our house is not built on a firm foundation that we will be carried away by the storm – Matthew 7:24-27. Our Lord is our rock and our fortress as seen in Psalms 18:2. Heavenly Father to have faith in him and not doubt, in James 1:2-18 – we see that we are to endure trials and temptations and that he who doubts is like a wave in the sea. Wise people have learned to live in this world but not be of this world. Heavenly Father asks us to pick up our cross and follow him in Luke 9:23 – he says we should deny ourselves and take up his cross daily and follow him. How can we follow him and his commands if we are following the world and its list of commands? In 1 Corinthians 3:19 – we see that the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God's sight. In Matthew 16:26 – he says what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul. In John 15:19 – he says if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is you do not belong to this world, but I have chosen you out of this world. That is why the world hates you. In John 16:23 – in this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. In 2 Corinthians 10:3 – For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. In 1 John 2:15-17 – he is very clear, he states: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For everything in the world, the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has or does comes not from the father but from this world. The world and its desires will pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. These three verses totally sum up what I have been attempting to express. Could it be more succinct, more profound, and more exact. When we listen to these words, open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, our minds to absorb, our bodies to act, we will be saved, we will live in this world although we are not of the world. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, bless me this day, and let your will be done, thank you to the answer of my prayers!