Are You Missing Out?

As you rush through your life, are you missing out?

Is it time to Press the Pause Button so you can listen to your heart and make sure you’re not missing out on the beauty and happiness that’s right under your nose!

We are constantly seeking the elusive ‘happiness’ and often we think that ‘making more money’ is the most important thing we can do. I was reminded this morning when reading Samantha Murdoch’s great blog post about the value of words and which reminded me of a quote that I often heard both my mum and my granddad (her dad) use:

“Make Knowledge Not Money Your Goal In Life As Knowledge Brings You Wealth…”

Check out Samantha’s post here – it’s a great read..

https://samanthamurdochblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/alphabetti-spaghetti/

Words have such value and meaning and reading Samantha’s post, I had a ‘lightbulb moment’.. My mum (as did Samantha’s), taught me to read before I started school.. At the age of 4, I was able to read the bible which was became a ‘party trick’ for mum’s guests to witness..

What I hadn’t really thought about until today was what a wonderful lesson and gift I’d been given by my mum… the gift of reading.

Books were my ‘friends’ as I grew up and I remain an avid reader… I love the ‘knowledge’ I am able to gain from reading books, blog posts, articles, magazines, all of which, expand my horizons and lead me down new pathways.

My mum also loved walking and as children, we were regularly taken on walks through the beautiful Derbyshire countryside, where she would stop along our route to point out the bark on a wonderful tree or the way the stone walls had been created.. She’d stop and look at the ‘detail’ as well as the ‘bigger picture’. When I’m out with my sons and granddaughters, I hear myself repeating her words: “Oh look at that beautiful tree” or “can you see the rabbit in that cloud?”…..  and my sons laughingly remind me that “You sound just like Nanna”

I realised today, that with the inspiration from my mum, I was given the gift of ‘knowledge’ and a ‘love of nature’ and I’m therefore a millionaire, with a wealth of beauty to enjoy and lessons to continue learning… What VALUABLE gifts these were and continue to be and hopefully now spread through future generations of our family… Thanks Mum!!

As we rush through each day, we’re often ‘so busy’ achieving targets, setting goals and objectives, thinking about all the things that we need to do for work or at home, that we forget to simply “Stop and Smell The Roses” and to remember what we already have in our lives to enjoy:

• Precious moments shared with family and friends
• The wonder of nature that surrounds us all
• The opportunities to learn

When we stop and take a moment to breathe deeply, it’s surprising what messages we receive in those moments of quiet contemplation, when we press the ‘pause’ button on our rushed lives and take time out to listen to our heart.

As I walked with my husband through the lovely grounds of The Greenway Hotel on our recent Spa break, I enjoyed the ‘big picture’ – the sight of the frosty grass, the trees and hills in the background, but here’s the beauty in nature that I would’ve missed if I hadn’t stopped for a moment and taken a closer look at the ‘detail’ and to gain more knowledge and ‘learn more’ about my new Canon G7X mark ii camera…

I went through a period in my life where I was so focussed on ‘meeting work deadlines and targets’, that I forgot the importance of the lessons my mum had taught me and in my quest to ‘achieve’, I missed opportunities to spend quality time with my family and friends and to enjoy the ‘little things’ in life..

Receiving the diagnosis of Diabetes, gave me the jolt I needed to re-focus my life on what’s really important and to ensure that I now press the ‘pause’ button regularly, to enjoy the precious moments that can so easily be missed and to listen to what my heart is telling me and that’s there within my grasp…

It’s surprising how we sometimes ignore a message until it punches us in our stomach… and yet those ‘hard hitting’ messages are the ones that make us stop in our tracks and take stock.. You can read about my journey with Diabetes here… How to be Positive about a ‘Positive Diabetes Diagnosis!

Happiness is there right under our noses if we just take a moment to enjoy some of the simple things, to continue learning and to Stop and Smell The Roses!

Press the Pause Button for a moment… You don’t have to wait for the punch…