On a brisk Sunday morning, I woke up weary. The weather was the rare kind in California where you can actually see your own breath. The sun was shining after nearly a week of nonstop rain, ridiculously dubbed “Storm Watch 2010” by all major media outlets. As I stepped outside to feed the fish in the pond, I noticed that a snail seemed to be trapped on a cactus. All the other snails had probably already hidden themselves away before dawn. Snails are like vampires, they only come out under the guise of darkness.
There is a natural inclination to look down or judge those who move slowly. Whether, you are in line at the grocery store, in line at the bank or driving on the freeway. We think about all the things we could be doing if we just had more time. The reality is that if we had an extra 5 minutes, we would need 10 more and if we had 10, we would surely need an hour. We are always going to find time for those things that are important to us. For me, life sometimes moves at such a frantic pace that I fail to enjoy the moments since I am so caught up in accomplishing the goal, only to set another goal. I have to constantly remind myself to enjoy the moments that make up my days. Each moment can be a defining one.
Just like the snail, we sometimes end up in “sticky” situations. Often times, we have no idea how we got there and have no idea or plan of how we are going to get through it. I have learned time and time again that by committing yourself to making small strides in the right direction, that you not only figure it out, but might learn something along the way. I wouldn’t give up one mistake for another five years of life.
The snail slowly navigated all of those sharp cactus spines and was eventually rewarded with freedom two hours later. I think that is eleven months in snail years. We have eleven months left in 2010, so let's live and play full out.
Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,
Alex
