6.17.2009

where are you right now?

ifxyou are able . . .

and look around.
sing . . .
try blue skies smilin' at me.lay on your back . . .
and look up.


go for a walk . . .

and look down.


take time to notice the little things.


tell everyone you can what they mean to you
at the first chance you get . . .
every chance you get.

laugh . . .
and be like a kid again.

oh, and one more thing . . .

take lots of pictures.

{are you busy running around "doing life", forgetting to stop and take time to breathe? are you neglecting to just listen to or watch what's going on around you?

one of my favorite quotes by emerson is "we're always getting ready to live, but never living." how true. i know it's easy for me to say all this—i'm not working right now. but even if i was, i would want someone to remind me. working hard is important, but we can easily let life pass us by if we work too much. life is short, but full of so much if we let it be.

the last night that my father stood and breathed a waking breath on this earth, i stayed at work late for four extra hours to finish a project that was in dire need. i was supposed to be at my mom and dad's house with my two sisters helping them pack up the last things before they moved to springfield. i ended up not going because i stayed late at work instead. i thought i would have the chance to see them both the next day to say goodbye before they moved. but i only got to see my mom that day, for my dad passed in his sleep early the next morning. i would have had one last night to see him—his last night here on earth.

i'm not living in "woulda, coulda, shoulda". but i am a different person when it comes to working overtime now. sometimes you just have to know when to pack up and go home. believe me, i understand the need for the extra money or the importance of being a valuable asset to a company or to clients, especially in this economy. but i urge you to find the right balance if you can.

my mom has said this to me for as long as i can remember—"you only have one chance to live june 18th, 2009." well . . . she changes the date each time she says it, of course. but you get the point. let's start living and take a break from getting ready to live. if you already are, i applaud you.

have a blessed day.}

{ps. don't forget to take the lens cap off your camera—see last photo above. heehee. that's my good friend who is also a photographer. she actually does know what she is doing. i think she was just viewing the lcd screen here.}

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's very true, Georgia. I like the saying, "No one ever lays on their deathbed and says, 'I wish I would have worked more.' "

The only problem is convincing your boss that you have a life outside work. Fortunately, my current job/boss isn't like that but I spent 5 years in one that was before this one.

Unknown said...

you wrote this for me today. thanks g.

Alaskangal B said...

I teared up a bit, I am so sorry to hear that you will always have that though. Anyone would I think.

I agree with you, working is totally different. I have been through some things that have really showed me that life is to short, that at any moment nature or someone evil can take it away.

This post is great, you always seem to be able to reach out to your readers I love it.

BTW I am going to get my nose re-done, I think now that you are working is the perfect time to do it. I get the smallest one, looks more like a sparkle on my nose than a piercing.

Hey you get a job interview you can change it for a clear one, then when you start working you can get rid of it. Atleast you could say you did something you always wanted to.=)

Alaskangal B said...

NOT working...darn it. I really need to proof read.

Jean-Louis Beylard-Ozeroff said...

Your Dad knows what everlasting love lies for him in the bottom of your heart ("Aimer quelqu'un, c'est dire : toi, tu ne mourras pas").
As for overworking, one has to do the task one knows one has to do...
Be blessed.

Dani said...

right on, sista! (;
your picture story is so great! my heart is tugging on me to spend more quality time with my kids. i'll follow that!

margie said...

georgia you are so right!! my late husband used to say "it's not important how you look in your life, it's whether you show up.

Toni said...

Excellent post, Georgia. I so sorry about the loss of your dad, but I'm sure he knew how much he meant to you. And who could have foreseen his passing, in light of your parents plan to move.

Re: your comment about my office, I've often wondered if something about the building, or it's location next to a couple of potato processing plants and a fertilizer/chemical company weren't contributing factors. No one else seems to be effected, though. I do always feel better shortly after leaving at the end of the day. Thanks!

Lisa said...

oh, georgia. this is something that i have been truly striving for lately! especially as i get older...i am just beginning to see the importance of all the little moments, and living IN life, not outside of it.

thank you for these thoughts today, this inspiration. i only know you in blogger world but i hope you know what an inspiration you are to me. you're my blogging idol! hehe.

Wildflower Studio (Michelle Dransart) said...

Thanks for sharing your story and advice. You are so right. I kinda choked up a bit reading this. Thanks for posting this!
(On another note, I just want to let you know I just posted a giveaway on my blog, so please come on by!)
Hugs to you, and so funny I look like your bff, you look familiar to me too :)

Unknown said...

this is so moving, sad and wonderful at the same time. thank you so much for sharing.

xo nina

Jamie said...

Beautiful reminder, my dear. My blog today is so insync with your words. I've been so busy working on the computer editing my sessions after an already full day at my day job. My husband was starting to feel a bit neglected I think. The other day he asked me to step away from the computer for awhile and hang out with him in our garden - our garden that only he has been working on. I really wanted to keep working but I knew it was more important to share that time with him. So instead he took me on a tour of "our" garden and showed me all the new things that were blooming. I took lots of pictures and then we layed in our hammock and breathed the cool evening air. It would have been a shame to have missed out on that time with him.

georgia b. said...

that's wonderful, jamie! i'm so glad to hear it! i just planted my new herb garden today. {you can read about it on jorjah-b.}

now if i could only get away from the computer more, too, i will harvest some lovely herbs for cooking this summer.

{wait, cooking? what's that?}
:)

ELK said...

well this is a wonderful post of creative photos to go with it...I so respect your work!

i hope that you have reconciled with missing that last night...we ALL do that to one extent or another...

i think our posts were traveling down the same road today don't you?

georgia b. said...

yes, elk, i do.

that seems to have happened a few times today with some of my blogger friends. :)

synchronicity!

spread your wings said...

beautiful post. it's advice we all need to be reminded of - to take time to really live not always be running, to observe and breathe the beauty around us, and to act like a child every once in a while. That quote by emerson is one of my favorites too.
delightful photos as always. : )

Chris said...

I think of this often, when you gave me that little quote a year or so ago during one of my many rough patches at work. I am in the same frame of mind as you are about OT (not that it's a problem right now, lol). You have to strike a balance and decide what you want your life to be like and how much time you want to devote to things like work, school, family, etc.

Thanks for the reminder :)

And oh pooh! It didn't rain AT ALL yesterday! Stupid weatherman.

alissa said...

its beautiful:) its hard not to couldawouldashoulda - when you think of the difference minutes and hours could have made in your life.
but i think you have a great lookout

GailO said...

Nicely put!

Angie said...

Looks like today is "I miss Daddy Day". Was explaining to my 6th grade students the evils of smoking. Told them about my dad's passing away almost 11 years ago because of cancer from , oh, so many years of smoking, and I started crying right in front of them. I hadn't done it in a long time. It was just a good "I miss him so much" cry.
Thanks for sharing.

beth said...

thanks for kicking me in the butt with this one...I needed it today :)

Char said...

excellent advice!! and very fun shots

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

What a great series. And it's good to see someone who knows that there is such a thing as working too hard.

Sara said...

I owe it to you that I tell you how this post has changed my life. I know, I know for sure that what I have done is for the best!!

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you!

georgia b. said...

sara, that makes me truly happy. hugs to you. i am happy fo you.

trishie said...

Great post...and oh so true. it's so important to stop and just look like the little beautiful things around us.
Loving those photos too, the sky looks amazing!

Sandy K. said...

Your photo story is lovely...and your message is clear. I'm sure your dad knew how much you cared about him, and you picked up a valuable, if difficult lesson. Thank you for reminding us to get off the computer now and then!

Erica said...

I've missed your blog! You're totally right about getting ready to live but never actually living. I've had a hard time making time to stop and smell the roses, but life is good! I'm back in the blog world now. I hope you'll check out the photos I'll be posting soon :)

Joy said...

Georgia, I am soooo far behind on looking at your blogs. I was gone for 10 days and am trying to catch up. Lots of good stuff here-- you've given me some ideas for photos---I have photoshop, but barely know how to do anything with it. I like the sepia toned rose.

spanky* said...

tear in the eye, chill up the spine.
i need to remember to breath.

this was a luvly reminder. thank you.