Stop and Smell the Roses...

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.”  - Ferris Bueller

After almost 30 years since it's release, this is still one of my favorite quotes. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when it first came out in the theatre as a very young, little girl and for some reason, this quote has always stayed with me throughout the years.  Lately, I’ve really been thinking long and hard about it and the true meaning behind it.  It just seems like the years are going by so fast that I often hear myself saying to people, “Wow, where did the time go?”  Or “That happened 5 years ago? It seems like just yesterday!”  Or “What? I have another high school reunion this year?” Or "Yeah, it's going to be my 7 year anniversary this year... What? It's 8 years, not 7?"

When I was younger, it always seemed like there was a lot of time available and time didn’t seem to go by so fast…So back then, I would often hear myself saying to people, “When I grow up, I want to do this…” Or “When I’m older, I want to travel here…”   But now that I’m older and I might actually be in one of those ‘times’ I've talked about it, my perspective has started to shift on certain things.

A lot of us lead extremely busy, fast paced lives where we go through the motions of what needs to get done on a daily basis.  Or at work, we are so busy trying to be successful and excel that we don’t stop and take a break once in a while and just enjoy our success.  We are so focused on what needs to be done in the next minute, or next hour or the next day, or the next year that we forget to enjoy the moment.

I completely understand Ferris Bueller’s quote and I’m a firm believer it in.  To slow down and be aware of our surroundings. To just live life and enjoy it and be present in the moment as we often forget to do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone out for dinner with friends, and on almost every occasion, everyone whips their cell phone out (myself included), or the times that I’m out at an event, and I see people texting away on their phone the whole time and being distracted rather than just focusing and enjoying the event they paid money for.

So now that I am getting older, I am definitely making more of an effort to stop and smell the roses and I am appreciating what this means a lot more.

Okay, these are tulips, not roses but close enough...:)

A lot of my 'enjoying the moment and my surroundings and being present' moments involves food too. 

Enjoying my ceviche while looking ahead at the beautiful view of Vancouver! Sometimes I forget how beautiful Vancouver is until I actually stop and focus on what's in front of me.  

Another time, I went out for high tea and turned off my cell phone so I could enjoy my afternoon and it was a fantastic experience. I could focus entirely on the company and delicious treats in front of me without any interruptions.

Sometimes just stopping for a moment and paying attention to what's in front of you, as simple as it may be, can often give you the greatest pleasure.

Since I started with a quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I have to end with one too. This one has absolutely no relevance to this post whatsoever, but it's probably my second favorite quote from the movie!

"....This is very controversial.  Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Anyone? Something-doo economics. Voodoo economics." - Boring Economics Teacher