Retrospectives and San Francisco serenity

  In a recent trip to San Francisco to drop off some family members I was wandering through the streets intentionally wasting time before I had to put on my mom/wife hat.  I was feeling defeated and saddened at the loss of my family's presence. I stumbled upon a Japanese Tea Garden that I never even knew existed.  While wandering through the garden a sense of peace wafted over me.  In the midst of the poverty, architecture, beauty, free expression and chaotic tapestry that is San Francisco, there was this place of complete peace and calm. And at that moment,  I accepted that I was sad, but also that I was present.  My mind was still.  

  Life is a series of moments and choices, opportunities and disappointments, failures and successes. Recognizing and appreciating these moments in time even if they are not exactly what we had anticipated, is I believe, the pinnacle of what living is.  If only I had known earlier in life what I know now.  With age comes knowledge.  While I am not old as the hills quite yet, admittedly I am no spring chicken. 

  Opportunities are presented everyday chalk full of sensory reminders that life is present and available to be utilized to the very fullest potential.  Take the time to get your hands dirty, get lost, feel sexy, feel the warmth of the coffee in your cup and, appreciate how it feels to help others. Every connection I make in life has an impact on me, a smile with a complete stranger, a compliment, a conversation, a frustration.  Choose not only to do things that make you happy, but that expand your vision of what life is.  Remind yourself that life is not just the daily grind but it is a series of moments waiting to be recognized and appreciated.