“Slow Dance”
By David L. Weatherford (Accessible online here: http://www.davidlweatherford.com/slowdance.html)
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask “How are you?”, do you hear the reply?When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’cause you never had time to call and say hi?You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.When you worry and hurry through your day,
it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.Life isn’t a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.
I just spent the morning teaching a productivity class to a group of Educators and was doing some reading this afternoon and came across this poem. I just love, love, love this. This captures so much of the way that I am feeling right now. There is SO much going on in this crazy world we all live in. Technology can enable great things, but it also wastes hours and hours of our time as we work on little things that in the long run, really don’t matter. What matters most to me is my family, and my relationships with my wife and kids. What matters most to me is my relationship with the Lord. What matters most to me is the sacred obligation I have to fulfill the callings the Lord has entrusted me with and live up to my potential as one of his chosen Priesthood holders.
But too often my actions don’t reflect what matters most to me. Life is a wonderful and amazing gift, not to be run though, but enjoyed. As my Dad once counseled me, I will slow down today and and “suck the life out of it” enjoying every moment. Enjoying those great and eternal relationships, for those are the one’s that matter most at the end of the day.
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