A Sign of the Times

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing happened or in saying that we are not yet ready.  The challenge will not wait.  Life does not look back."  - Paulo Coelho

Some things to think about, as a sign of the times…

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgement; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh to little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.  We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.  We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to our years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.  We've conquered outer space, but not inner space.  We've done larger things, but not better things.  We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.  We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.  We write more, but learn less.  We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait.  We have higher incomes, but lower morals.  We have more food, but less appeasement.  We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.  We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.  These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this message to you, and a time when you can choose either to share it to make a difference, or to just hit delete.

Life is too short and too valuable to continue to live it the way we do. This pandemic has proven that. We must be present and live in the now.  We must cherish our relationships with family, friends and co-workers.  We must be courteous and kind to everyone we come in contact with. We must carry an attitude of gratitude in all you do.  We must be good and do good.  We must change our ways and not take things for granted.

It all starts with us. We must stand up as individuals and do our part to help fix the greater good. We must leave things better than we found them. We must live our lives with purpose and on purpose. We must never believe that a few caring individuals can't create change for the world, for that is all who ever have. 

The only constant we have in life is change.  Change is always going to happen, you either help to create it or you let it happen.  You are either a reason, or a result.  We need to create change. We need to be the change. If we want to change our results, we cannot just focus on changing only our behaviors, we need to start by focusing on changing our beliefs that drive our behaviors. Change the belief, and the thinking changes. Change the thinking, and the actions change. Change the actions, and the results change.

Live your life with passion and compassion.  Live your life to the fullest. Make the most of each of your days. Starting today. 

Make today great!

Curtis

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi