Pay Attention

Inspirational song: Time (Pink Floyd)

Time is running too fast. Time is dragging along too slowly. How difficult it is to live through each moment, giving it its proper respect, without waste, without suffering for it. When life is only a few years old, each day is a miracle, and it lasts forever. Summers are endless. Christmas takes too long to arrive. There's time to do everything you want to do, and each activity imprints so strongly on your long term memories. You remember every piano lesson endured, campfire song sung, archery contest won. A single night of a slumber party is a memory for the ages, for all the children in attendance. The world revolves around a child's eyes.

But an adult's life passes in a blur. The pressure to work, to support, takes your eyes away from the revolving world. You can't wait for the kids to settle down at the slumber party, so you can sleep, because you have things to do the next day. You know you don't have time to take anyone to dance classes, so you never suggest them. Your fertile years pass, and you wonder whether you should have kids at all before it's too late. You pay your dues playing the smoky bars or taking embarrassing roles in low budget films, wondering whether your big break will come while you're still young and beautiful. You think the value of your life is measured in a paycheck.

Kids grow up in a flash, and you wonder whether you paid enough attention to them. Kittens and puppies grow old before your eyes, and you have to say goodbye before you're ready. Faces mature, skin sags, and hair thins. And if you're lucky, before it's all gone, before the time is over, you wake up, and pay attention. You are still beautiful, right now. Your kids are still there, waiting for you to find out what interests them. There's still time to paint. There's still time to invent. People still want to talk to you, and learn what you know. Don't stop. Don't give up. The clock is ticking, but time is not up. Use it.