With three kids, a business, a husband with a business, a house, a yard, and a very close extended family, my time is at a premium. This means I???m usually running as fast as I can to keep up with everything??"and sometimes failing miserably in that endeavor. Recently I was caught between two major obligations, driving from one to the other, and late again.
In my mind I was ticking off all that had to be done when I got home: make supper, give the kids a bath, help with homework, straighten the house, lay out clothes for the morning, pay the bills, reconcile the bank statements??? when suddenly the pickup in front of me put on his blinker and veered over to the empty lane beside us. I hit the brakes and then realized why he had stopped. A funeral procession.
Instantly although my first thought was, ???Oh, no! I don???t have time for this!??? I, too pulled to the side of the road, turned off my radio and stopped just as the policeman and the hearse passed. I looked beyond them to see how many cars with lights there were and realized I was going to be there for a while.
Turns out, I had no idea how long ???a while??? would be. Because the procession was actually coming around a corner up the road, I couldn???t actually see the whole thing, which could easily have been 200 cars or more. Nonetheless, as I sat there in silence, perspective began to fall around me. Here we on this side of the road were, living our lives, driving in the fast lane to get what we had to get done, seeming to have no time as it was, but when we needed to??"out of courtesy or obligation??"we stopped.
Life stopped so that we could all take a moment to recognize not only the grief of one family, but so that we could recognize that we, too, will one day be at the head of that funeral procession.
See, death and 24-hours, are the two great equalizers in this lifetime. We each have 24-hours to live our lives each day. You cannot buy more time. You cannot will more time. You cannot even strong-arm more time. You and the wino on the street have exactly the same amount of hours in ever day. The only difference is in how you choose to use that time. However, here is a sobering thought??"you and the greatest doctor on the earth also have the same number of hours in each day. He has used his brilliantly. How have you used yours?
Death is our other greatest equalizer. No matter who you are, where you are from, who you know, or how much money you have, one day you, too, will be laid out and leading that procession. The question is, how long will your procession be?
As I watched this person???s procession, it became clear how this person had chosen to use those 24-hours a day that God had granted. Well. Very, very well indeed. The cars just kept coming and kept coming, rounding that bend and lining up until there was a mile of them, and they were still coming.
For one moment that day I stopped on my harried trek through life to really consider where I???m going on this road we call life, what it all means, and whether or not I???m head in the direction that I want to end up. Truth is, it was well worth the stop.
Copyright, Staci Stallings, 2003
Need more inspiration? Sign up for the monthly newsletter by Staci Stallings, the author of this article. Insights, quotes, inspiration and even a free novel by Staci sent two chapters at a time! To sign up, send a blank email to: newsletter@stacistallings.com You'll feel better for the experience!
best cleaning company Highland Park ..Much has been researched, written and taught about success. One... Read More
Imagine that right now, right here, today? there is within... Read More
We have all read about people who are successful briefly.... Read More
I don't need to be a gypsy fortune teller to... Read More
All too often, we push ourselves past the limits of... Read More
I was hired to do some training for a sales... Read More
How many of you have ever thought about the link... Read More
People often ask me how I became successful in that... Read More
If you have read this far, we both know you... Read More
Work addiction is an unrestrained, unfulfillable internal demand for constant... Read More
Today I am going to tell you the #1 secret... Read More
I am writing this article to cement two key success... Read More
Most sports are full of lessons for the discerning. Tennis... Read More
Self-sabotage is one key factor that keeps our business from... Read More
Back from my amazing summer excursion, a month long drive... Read More
(Excepted from the book The Five Major Pieces to the... Read More
Do you want to achieve your most important goals in... Read More
How's the weather there?We use small talk to connect with... Read More
It's really all we have... the "Moment". Think about it,... Read More
Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now,... Read More
Let me tell you story about a friend of mine... Read More
The present model of business and career motivation, the one... Read More
Challenges posed by recent economic and market shifts, though predicted... Read More
When Julie looks through the lens of her camera she... Read More
Success could be just about making money, but I think... Read More
high-end home cleaning Winnetka ..I'll let you in on a little secret...life delivers pretty... Read More
Do you still keep that all important 'Inner Spark Alive'?... Read More
Fear, or negative anxiety, is the modern day bubonic plague,... Read More
This past Memorial Day weekend I decided to revisit my... Read More
The most important quality you can ever develop is having... Read More
Pops first set the goal in high school, but when... Read More
The approach of a new year usually causes us to... Read More
Do you know what the problem is with asking successful... Read More
Have you ever made plans in your career but never... Read More
A More Effective WayI own a stack of self improvement... Read More
The need to be successful. This is the bottom line... Read More
What would happen if you lived your life by design... Read More
"I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the... Read More
All too often, we push ourselves past the limits of... Read More
Create an environment that is so inspiring and nurturing that... Read More
Abundance is intangible, spiritual and attracts energy. To attract this... Read More
When you analyze the traits of successful people, you will... Read More
George Burns' career could have ended as early as 1958,... Read More
Success is something that happens all by itself once you've... Read More
Unless you have been living in a cave, you have... Read More
Most dictionary entries would define failure as the simple lack... Read More
The best and fastest way to learn how to make... Read More
An old fable tells about a religious man and a... Read More
Let me say this to get it out of the... Read More
Well, it's that time of the year again. No, I... Read More
Success |