“You don’t realize what you’ve got until it’s gone”
The headlines are already replete with umpteen year end summaries of what happened in retail, and what the new things are forecast for 2014. So it’s a perfect time to stray off the beaten path of all things retail, and explore those incredibly important things that so often get missed in this journey we call “life”. I would highly encourage that you make time to pause, read and reflect in this special time of the year. Savor what follows … and then pass it on to all of those you love and care about.
A winter’s day and “Big Yellow Taxi” … the value of living in the moment
This holiday season I finally made the time to sample some of the great music streaming services. Right now my personal favorites are Spotify and Pandora. What makes these streaming services so great is that you listen to a “station” or focus artist, and it pulls up related artists and songs from the period.
The Nebraska afternoon high temperature hovering just about 0 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s -18 C for my friends celebrating Christmas on the beach in South Africa). I was hunkered down in my home office grooving to a “Oldies” music stream, and suddenly there was a “classic”, but a rather inconspicuous song by Joni Mitchell, with the unusual title of “Big Yellow Taxi”. It has a great refrain that captures the value of living in the moment and appreciating what you really have before it’s too late:
Don’t it always go.
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone.
Perfect karma – A song + a special message to appreciate what’s important
I’ve been very fortunate to build a great network over the past three decades. Many are past business contacts who are now great friends. My friend, “Pat,” and I go back some 20 years of working together. He is one of my greatest sources of email humor ever!
Maybe it was karma or pure coincidence that I opened Pat’s email during Joni’s Big Yellow Taxi song. It turned out that Pat cared enough to send me the perfect year end message. Rather than just pass it on in my email, I wanted to make the time to share it with all of you. It’s great advice to both end the year, and begin a new one. The origin is unknown, but the message is priceless:
Read quietly then send it back on its journey
To realize
The value of a sister/brother:
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.
To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.
To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.
To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.
To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.
To realize
The value of one month:
Ask someone
Who has that long to live.
To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.
Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.
Remember....
Hold on tight to the ones you love!!!
Turns out that life’s journey is not just about valuing time … but living in the moment and valuing the ones you deeply care about before it’s too late. Let me share the final words of wisdom from my friend Pat as you start your new year:
" Life ends when you stop dreaming.
Hope ends when you stop believing.
Love ends when you stop caring,
and Friendship ends when you stop sharing."
If you follow the rules of writing a good blog post, you are supposed to end with a question to ponder and a call to action. Hopefully the sage advice above has given you much to ponder. The call to action is quite simple … it is the same one that my friend Pat gave to me. If you have special people in your life, then …
Read quietly, and then send this message back on its journey!
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Aint it the truth!
Posted by: Jacqueline | January 28, 2014 at 06:43 PM
A great read Chris! Carl
Posted by: Carl van Zyl | January 22, 2014 at 06:10 AM