Stop
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“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.”
William Feather
She had a good, rich life. Full of treasures. She was busy, always running, hands tethered to little creatures, fingers dancing deftly across so many buttons. She checked her watch often, too often, and time was cruel and callous, beating on, escaping them all. Summer was fading, the air was growing heavy and crisp, suddenly boots were okay to wear.
She had one day, this really wonderful day with her family. They sat on a picnic blanket on a vast green lawn in the center of her city. The sky was kind and complicated, mottled with cryptic clouds. She laid there with the her littlest, tickling her cheeks, plumbing the depths of brilliant blue eyes. Yards away, the big girls and their daddy climbed rocks.
She had a thought.
I am happy.
She had the thought because she stopped long enough to have it. It was a simple thought sprung from twisted and triumphant depths, hard-earned. She laid there, feeling the fuzz on a little happy head, welcoming the whispering breeze, the hints of evening and fall. Time passed, but she never once checked that watch. It stayed hidden under a sleeve, hands ticking, beckoning but being blissfully ignored.
She stopped.
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How often do you stop? Really stop? Does it scare you that by going and going you might actually miss the happiness that you have?
I had to stop wearing my watch when I was pregnant with Joy – my wrists swelled along with the rest of me, and it rubbed and chafed. At first it panicked me, not having a timepiece on me at all times, but now, as she is approaching her fourth birthday, I still don’t wear it, and I don’t miss it at all. You are so right – happiness is fleeting, and worrying about its passing just makes it more tenuous. Better just to embrace the moments and soak in them, regardless of how quickly or slowly they come and go.
Beautiful! I so understand.
I have not stopped too much lately, but this reminds me that I need to.
Love this so much.
My latest goal is to learn to linger in moments. To enjoy those happy moments that so often pass me by. It’s a challenge for me because for 31 years my focus has always been one step ahead. Thank you for sharing this simple and important post.
I think it everyday. Mostly when I am reading to my kids. I don’t know why but I love when we all get lost in books together.
Every day I try to make a point to just stop and play with the kids without any thoughts about what I have to do, where I have to be or anything else that takes away from it.
Rarely do I stop. Definitely not often enough. Even when I’m relaxing after all the work is done in the evenings, I have an eye on my watch making sure I go to bed on time so that I can get up in time to begin all over again.
In that way, I am looking forward to entering the newborn days again, where time is meaningless.
Your post made me smile. Thanks for the reminder.
I stop often, because I know it’s important just to sit my children, listen when they speak, look around me and see the world.
I haven’t worn a watch in year, sometimes feel that I don’t stop enough.
This brevity and poignancy of this post are breathtaking. Love it.