Tuesday, November 2, 2004

"I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes..."

Perhaps you've read this saying before today? I received this particular quote as part of a forwarded email reflection from a friend awhile ago. I set the email aside but came across it during a somewhat hectic end-of-October day in the Hoedl household; it seemed I was almost destined to find it on that day.

Please rest easy knowing that I will not be regaling you with a drawn out analogy of toilet paper use and the journey of Life. Having said that...

If you were to ask - after numerous hiking trips and summer biking excursions of mine - what I would do differently, I would most likely respond, "Slow down and enjoy the scenery a lot more." In fact, if you asked me what I would do differently over this past year while raising our triplets, I would most likely tell you the exact same thing. And you may be secretly expressing the same desire.

It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting on the back roof of my friend Scott's apartment on a lazy sunny Friday afternoon and dreaming with my friends Bob, Paul, Di, Stasha and Scott about what my future would hold. And in a blink of an eye, it is twenty years later. From that backyard roof to my present life, it has been an exciting and fun-filled journey... but one that sometimes has to be remembered through the numerous photos I took along the way... because Life just went by too fast.

Over the past ten years, I have developed a daily routine that I would like to personally share with you. For me, it has been a way to slow down my day for a brief moment and mark the significance of its presence as a part of my journey. Within the next 30 minutes, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and answer the following questions:

• What specifically has been the best part of my day so far?
• What specifically has been the worst part of my day so far?
• Whom have I enjoyed speaking and interacting so far today?
• Whom do I still need to get in touch and renew my friendship with today?
• What do I like most about myself right now at this moment?
• What do I still need to work on from this moment on?

Simple questions, but also a simple chance to reclaim the overwhelming pace that occupies your day. It is an opportunity to mark this day as unique from any other day of your life journey. Try it for one week and see how your answers change... and also remain the same.

Sometimes we can't be too concerned about how much toilet paper is left, but just thankful that we have these few squares at this moment.

[Sorry, but you didn't really expect me to not to make an analogous statement from such a wonderfully humorous observation.]