Living This Moment

When I was young, everything seemed so endless: time, love, chances - my own youth.  Being young didn't blind me to the truth about how precious any of those things are, I just was not looking to see it, was not even aware that there was such a truth to be searched out.

When I was young, I was everything I was supposed to be: hopeful and free of a lot of the lessons life had planned for my future. I was able to enjoy being young. That's such a blessing - to let the young be young. If they live long enough, they will have to endure lessons that not everyone can survive whole.

So many kids today have a lot on their shoulders. To me, some young people are old before their time and they seem so hard and bitter already. Where are the people who are supposed to be looking out for them so that they can be kids? Where are the people who are supposed to make them be kids while they still are kids? (Mamas, Daddys, Grammys - whoever - please put some of these kids in check. Don't let them "be grown" before they are ready to be!)

Because I had good parents & even extended family to keep my little behind in check when I was young, I enjoyed being a child. It's hard for me to believe it now, but I can remember not knowing what it was to be disappointed in people and situations. I remember believing that everyone had whole and good hearts. I remember thinking that nothing could hurt someone bad enough that they could die of a broken heart. But, then, I also believed for a very long time that death only came to the body. I was older before I learned that hope and courage could be killed just as dead as any corpse laid in a grave.

My mother used to say to me: "Life will teach you lessons," and "Lessons will be learned." How right she was. Lessons surely will be learned - whether you want to be taught or not.

Another thing my mother taught me (a lesson I didn't grasp until later on in my life) is: grief won't kill you, despair and heartbreak won't kill you. Losing faith in behind any of things is what will kill you.

So what's my point? No point, really. I was just thinking of younger folks who haven't  yet gone through seriously tough times, or are just now starting to hit those tough times. I was wondering what I could say to them for encouragement.

Just enjoy this time and this moment, this breath. Enjoy the people who love you right now, the laughter and joy you have now. Enjoy the things that God has blessed you with THIS day. Because (again, as my mama used to say! LOL): your next breath is not promised to you.

Peace

--Free