This weekend, Barb and I were ordering lunch at a famous marketplace in the International District of Seattle. I’d just placed my order for a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with egg and bacon. While I was waiting for my lunch to be prepared, we were in line to order her a Thai lunch that she loves. Then it happened.
The fire alarm went off. It was evident by the ringing and flashing box on the wall labeled “fire alarm.” This place is huge and we, along with hundreds of other customers, simply listened to the blaring alarm as the the light strobe kept going. After what seemed to be about 15 seconds, we were ushered out by employees beseeching us to get out of the building. We all stood mere feet away from a building that potentially could be on fire! Even my lunch order got put on hold as the cooks sheepishly shuffled out into the street. All ended well with the fire department allowing us back in after a short delay.
I remember vividly in grade school being taught what to do when a fire alarm sounds. You get out. Now. My wife, fellow customers of the market, and myself were basically all numb to the alarm. We’d become too comfortable thinking that it couldn’t be really dangerous. It would soon stop and we could go about our normal business. While fortunately in this case it wasn’t serious, what about the next time?
I suggest we’ve all become comfortably numb (apologies to Roger Waters and the Pink Floyd gang). A fire alarm not immediately heeded is just the tip of the iceberg. How many of us will numbly start our work week today bemoaning the start of a new week; mindlessly repeating tasks from the week before (same old, same old); and “ticking away the moments that make up a dull day, fritter and wast the hour sin an off-hand way…?” (Okay more Pink Floyd…I will stop…maybe)
Many of us are guilty of wasting days by being anxious, stressed, complacent, and maybe worst of all, bored. Regardless of whether we own, manage, or work in a business, each day is rife with opportunity. I got the chance to both hold and simply stare at my beautiful three-week old granddaughter. That time, that moment won’t come again. I soaked in every second of it. While more may be like it; that moment is singular. I’m ready for the next one…
Your moments are singular. Don’t waste them with worry, regret, or boredom. Find a way to embrace the day, honor the struggle, and find opportunity that won’t come this way again. The rinse and repeat with eager abandon.
Quote of the Week:
“Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun…”
~ Pink Floyd – Lyrics from the song, Time
Don’t miss the starting gun.
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