Meanderings of Adam and Stacia

I was on my way in to the office this morning and something occurred to me.  Sure, I've thought it a few times before, even have written about it before, a poem I believe.  But that's neither here nor there.  The point is that I thought of this once again...

While I was on my way to the office, on the freeway, I noticed so many impatient people.  I was driving a bit over the speed limit, probably hovering right around 76mph or so (I don't like getting up to 80mph anymore, just to be safe).  And yet this speed, which was 10mph over the limit, was not fast enough for several individuals behind me.

I kept on having people get impatient with my already fast paced speed and pass me with such impatient and somewhat angry looks on their faces.  Where are they going that they need to get there an extra 20 seconds sooner?  That's all that going around me would afford them, an extra few seconds.  So after a few of these cars getting impatient and going around me, I just began to think... We go through life much faster than we are meant to.

When we speed from task to task, from point A to point B, we miss so much of what this life has to offer.  We get so caught up in what is going on in our cars, around our cars, on the side of the road, what's in our minds, etc. that we lose sight of the fact that RIGHT NOW is a gift, that's why it's call the PRESENT.  Cliche, yeah, I know.  But I don't care because IT IS TRUE.  We are all taking breaths as we read this, that is a gift.  We are all given the ability to read this with our own eyes... that is a gift.

We need to slow down and admire the world around us.  Even if the view isn't great, even if you're stuck in traffic... slow down your heart and your mind... YOU'VE ALIVE!!  You have been given the greatest gift of all... LIFE!!!

I know about the hustle and bustle of the world around us, I was raised in a family of six kids... I know how busy things can get sometimes.  I know that stress levels mount ALL AROUND US... believe me... I'M PLANNING A WEDDING AS I TYPE THIS... I know that stress is real and that it will ALWAYS hit us here and there... but that's not the point... the point is that IF we take the time to slow down and admire the beauty around us... the stress will feel a little less painful.

When I'm feeling stressed there are a few things I do that help me more than anything I could ever have imagined...

1)  When the stress levels are taking me over and freaking me out, making me feel helpless and hopeless... I close my eyes... I breathe deep, and I acknowledge that this is just a momentary stress, even if the moment lasts a month, two months, it is still JUST A FRACTION compared to the rest of our lives;

2)  I open my eyes back up to the world, and I thank God for the little things.  The fact that my windshield may be cracked, but it hasn't cracked any more in over three months.  The fact that I have a car to get me where I need to go, and that I have a job to pay for that car and all the gas that I need for it; and

3)  I realize that I've never been so blessed in my life as I am right now.  I AM MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND IN LESS THAN A YEAR!!!  One year ago today, I was in a pretty dark place, I was filled with depression and I was spiraling downward... and fast.  But then something happened, I realized that my friend needed a friend, and I went to her.  And from there, from that simple act of comforting someone I cared about... from there grew the greatest love I've ever known and I've never been happier than I am with Stacia Rae.  I would never change anything about her or our relationship.

So take the time to slow down... be a few minutes late... don't rush through the day... you'll miss something for sure.  I'd love to avoid the stress of planning this wedding, but I wouldn't miss ANY of it for the world... I don't want to speed through any of it, I don't want to miss ANY aspect of it.