For as long as I can remember my daughter Eden has always stopped to smell the roses….literally.
It would be impossible to count all of the times that we have taken a moment to give her an opportunity to smell the flowers, even if they were fake!
I remember times, when she was younger, getting impatient, thinking what the heck, those flowers aren’t even real, they don’t even smell, but I always paused and let her saver their artificial fragrance even though I wasn’t grasping important life lessons being taught by my then two-year-old daughter.
Lesson 1. Stop rushing and slow down.
I personally find myself always in a rush, I talk fast, I work fast, I run fast…you get my point. How often do we miss precious moments in life because we are in a hurry to get to the next thing? Take time to slow down and absorb that moment in time right now.
Lesson 2. Pay attention to the little things.
You’ve all heard the saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff and it is all small stuff.” I don’t know if that is completely accurate, but all of the big stuff is made up of those smaller things. Paying attention to the little things puts everything into perspective and those little moments and things in life are precious and deserve our attention.
Lesson 3. Live in the present moment.
In the present moment, we aren’t worrying about the future nor dwelling on the past. Now every moment isn’t going to be perfect but I find when I am present in the moment I am happier. Why wouldn’t I be? During that moment I am not going over my to-do-list or thinking about what I need to cook for dinner, or bills I need to pay, I am just being.
If you search the internet you will find plenty of data and studies on the benefits of living in the present moment. For example, one study by researchers in Australia showed that present moment awareness actually increased stress-resilience and well-being. Another study from psychologists at Harvard showed that happiness is found by living in the now.
The research is fascinating but I don’t need the research to remind me, I have a daughter that even at almost 11 years old still takes time to stop and smell the roses.
What an amazing gift of realization she gave me to stop and smell the roses, to truly appreciate those little things and moments in life we miss or take for granted.
“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you`ll look back and realize they were the big things.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut
