There's No Other Time But NOW!

by Skip Cohen
  
I'm staying with my usual Sunday Morning Reflections theme of running amuck from business and marketing and going with whatever's on my mind. Lately, as more of my friends retire, I've been thinking a lot about aging. I have yet to figure out why people refer to these as our "Golden Years," especially when everything starts to go like a car just out of warranty. LOL

We live in Sarasota County, which I've been told has the highest average age per capita of any county in the United States. And while that explains so many people driving around at 11mph with their left turn signal on, I don't really feel any older than I did twenty years ago. My body creaks for ten minutes in the morning, but according to Sheila, I have yet to mature!

But here's one thing I have noticed - as I've gotten older, I've become more aware of the importance of simply living life with a smile, not just on my face but in my heart. Life is simply too short and not worth losing time to those hockey pucks out there who would like nothing more than to create stress. Maybe that explains 80 yr olds driving at 11 mph - they know they'll get there, so they're savoring each mile of the drive!

Speaking at Skip's Summer School many years ago, my good buddy Scott Bourne reminded everybody to capture images as if each one was the last photograph anybody was going to see of your work. Well, at least for me, that's where the true quality of aging comes into the picture. As we get older, we get smarter and learn to pick our battles while appreciating each moment along the way.

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor.
It's to enjoy each step along the way.
Wayne Dyer

And here's my point - I'm still a work in progress, but I'm learning to stop worrying about where I'm going and appreciate each moment. We could make the world even better if more of us just enjoyed each other, accepted our differences, and stopped sweating all the small stuff.

Wishing all of you a wonderful day ahead, and whether you're celebrating Easter, Passover, or any other holiday, what an incredible time to be who we are, where we are and how we are. So go for those eleven-second hugs with those people most special to you - they're the ones who appreciate the "dance" and don't care where you're headed as long as they can come along for the ride.