Stop and smell the roses

Our daily schedules are packed with things to do. We go to work. We take our children to school and to soccer practice. We watch our favorite sporting event on TV. The list goes on and on. At the end of the day we fall into bed exhausted only to wake up the next morning and repeat the same activities. It feels like the proverbial hamster running on a wheel that takes him nowhere. We rarely pause and ask ourselves what all of this means to our existence. There are so many of life's little pleasures that we are missing when we are on that hamster wheel. Something as simple as taking a few minutes to inhale the fragrance of a rose or a lily. Or watching a sunset. Or listening to the sound of songbirds as they fill the air with their music. Or taking time to hold your pet and stroke their fur. This is food for the senses. It reminds us of our physical nature and that we are one with the world around us. Most likely your stress levels drop significantly after such an activity. When was the last time you took time to smell the roses and how did that affect you?