So back when I was a sophomore in highschool in AP Language, we had an assignment entitled ‘This I Believe’. I vaguely remember if the assignment was modeled after a passage or reading we had just completed, but we had to write on something we “believe” in, serious or not, personal or playful.
Once the assignment was completed, my teacher was so kind enough to make it into a booklet for us to keep for the many years and read over and see if our beliefs remain the same. I’ve seemed to replace mine, but the other day, one of my classmates happened to stumble along the booklet and found my writing to send to me. I’ve decided to publish it on my blog! (Keep in mind I was only a 10th grader and my writing skills were still growing, lol). I encourage everyone to write a ‘This I Believe’, store it, and years later re-read it to see if some of the same values still hold true.
This I Believe…in Stopping to Smell the Roses
“There was a man complaining about having no shoes…until he saw a man with no feet.”
Simple things like this are what we fail to take the time out to appreciate. We fall to acknowledge life’s pleasures, but easily notice the pains.
Life often rubs us in the most uncomfortable ways that we find ourselves wanting more instead of being grateful for what we have. Everyday of my life, I make it a priority to se time aside and recognize the priveleges that I am able to enjoy that others cannot. Each morning I say to myself and others “Count your blessings, not your problems. Somebody didn’t wake up this morning.” It’s the little things, like the air around us that we breathe in and having clean water to drink, that we forget to be thankful for.
Someone asked me the other day, what I am most thankful for, and I replied, “I’m just happy to be alive.” It was just two years ago in ninth grade when I was in the hospital for a week with an infection so bad it caused my blood levels to be low. I remember feeling so weak and having to be rushed to the emergency room and that long ride in the ambulance; in seconds my life flashed before my eyes. I did not realize at that time that I was moments away from never ever smelling a rose again.
I realized from that point on, you just can’t take life lightly. And I’m grateful for that. For my family. Friends. The birds. The bees. The flowers. The shoes that I DO have. And most importantly the feet to put them on. I feel like life is too short for us to continuously bask on the things that we do not have. I believe that gratitude must be displayed in every action that we perform. Every chance we get, we must take the time out to “smell the roses” and show gratitude. It is in this, that I believe.
-ardubb.
ardubb 