Don’t Wait for the Perfect Time to Enjoy What Life Has to Offer
Live every moment as if it were your last
Yesterday my eleven-year-old son asked me to tuck him in bed and to stay with him until he was asleep. I was busy trying to get through my to-do list for the day and didn’t want the interruption to get me off track.
But then I remembered. It had been days since he’d asked for something like this.
When he was younger, tucking him in bed used to be a routine that we’d follow. I’d listen to his stories about the day, and he’d ask me questions he had on his mind. He’s always had an inquisitive mind, and he doesn’t shy away from asking about things that don’t make sense to him.
But now that he’s growing up, that routine has fallen apart. He’s got so many other things to do now. Now he kisses me goodnight and goes to his room. Therefore he surprised me when he asked me for our old ritual, and I wasted no time in giving up everything I was doing at that moment.
I tucked him in. I ran my fingers through his hair as we talked. And one thought constantly niggled away at the back of my mind — he’s growing up so fast. I don’t know how many more of these moments will I be able to enjoy before he feels he’s too old for this and finds it embarrassing.
A few weeks ago, one of my aunts passed away. The news of her death was shocking and unexpected. I had been at a family picnic with her, just the week before. She was absolutely fine and in perfect health. It didn’t seem logical; nothing made sense. Yet it happened, and there was nothing anyone could’ve done.
She had suffered a heart attack. The doctors had tried everything they could do but it wasn’t meant to be. It was her time to go.
Her family had recently moved back after living in Oman for more than thirty years. She had decorated every nook and corner of her new house with so much love. Who knew she was going to stay in that house for so little time.
Her sudden passing caused me to stop in my tracks and reflect. All I could think was what would happen if we knew how much more time do we have to live. Would we still go on living the same way as we do or would we do things differently then?
We live on auto-pilot mode most of the time and try to put off actually living because we are in constant pursuit of success and happiness. There’s no time to sit and breathe and feel our emotions and feelings.
We miss out on the small and mundane pleasures of life — deeming them unimportant and assuming those would distract us from our objectives. We feel less satisfied with our lives due to the distress caused by heavier workloads, greater responsibility and little or no time for ourselves.
What we forget is that we can still be happy while we pursue our goals. We can still live. We can be mindful of the present and find joy in simple things.
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.” — Robert Breault
Generally, we try to avoid thinking about death as it makes us anxious and uncomfortable. We try to suppress these thoughts and distract ourselves with something else.
Remembering we are going to die will help in making us appreciative of every minute that we have and not take anything for granted.
Reminding ourselves our time is limited will help to re-align our priorities and create a sense of purpose in everything we do.
Don’t wait for the perfect time to do things, there is never going to be a perfect time. Remember what you have — now.
Do whatever you’ve been wanting to do.
Learn the new skill that you’ve been wanting to for a long time.
Put on that new dress or those new shoes that you’ve kept aside for special occasions because every day you get to live is special.
Take time out for yourself and your loved ones. Go to the spa, get a massage. Pamper yourself. Make plans for that holiday you’ve been putting off.
“One day, you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.” — Paulo Coelho
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