I would like to share with you this story written by Ann Well which is worth pondering.
“My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package. “This”, he said, “is not a slip. This is lingerie.” He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite, silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag was astronomical figure which was still attached. “ Jan,” he said, “brought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion.” He took the slip from me and put it on bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. He turned to me and said, “ Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion.”
“I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I’m still thinking about his words and they’ve changed my life. Now, I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I’m trying to recognize those moments now and cherish them. I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. I can shell dollars on expensive food in the groceries without wincing. “Someday” and “one of these days” are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing or doing, I do it. I’m not sure what my sister would have done had she known she wouldn’t be here for the tomorrow. Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is…a gift from God.”
How about us? How many of us postpone doing something to wait for the tomorrow? Have we waited for the time to come to heal the wound and pain that is in our hearts before we forgive those who have hurt us? Do we take for granted our loved ones and occasionally we say “I love you,” because they are around? How many times have we refused to listen to our children and spouse because we are busy with our office works or are busy reading the newspaper? How many times have we not fulfilled our promises that we owe to our loved ones because of social meeting? How many times? How many times?...
As what one unknown writer said, “It is not the things that you do dear that you commit the sin of omission, but the things that are left undone.”
“ If I knew,” writer Kimberly Kirberger said in the Chicken Soup on Learning, “I would listen more carefully to what my hearts says; I would enjoy more…worry less; I wouldn’t worry so much about what other people were thinking; I would play more, fret less; I would know how much my parents love me and I would believe that they are doing the best they can; I would look for the good qualities in everyone and enjoy them for those; I would not hang out with people just because they’re popular; I would enjoy my body just the way it is; I would be more appreciative and grateful, for sure.”