MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband
unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack.

About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a
classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in
through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a
few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said,
"Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought
that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.

Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and
give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will
end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is the powers that
be way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single
day."

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to
make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way
home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be
something you see it could be a scent - perhaps of freshly baked bread
wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze
slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light
catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may
sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little
things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for
granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time...it
can all be taken away."

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out
of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way
home from school than I had that whole semester.

Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an
impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those
things that sometimes we all overlook. Take notice of something special
you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at
sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream
cone.

For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret,
but the things we didn't do. Life is not measured by the number of
breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

By Dena Strum, courtesy of Dr. Stephen Strum