What if?

"I who am blind can give one hint to those who can see: use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. And the same method can be applied to the other senses. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Touch each object as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Make the most of every sense, glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you through the several means of contact which nature provides."
~ Helen Keller

It has been over a week since I last wrote an entry....wow...what a week it has been. In my last entry I wrote about the struggles with my vision I was facing, with my only good eye acting up. This past week, the above quote has held even greater significance for me. I spent the entire week struggling with my vision, in pain and fighting within myself. Yesterday was the first day I was able to wear my contact lens for most of the day. Although my eye is still very sore and red....so I know it is still not healthy....it was nice to be able to see again. There were days I questioned the very real fear of what if I was not going to be able to see again....I was reminded on a very real level to see the world as if looking at it for the last time.

I appreciate Helen Keller's views very much so. Life is meant to be embraced, not just "buy / pass time". There is no greater way to experience the world than through experiencing it as if doing so for the last time. Instead though, we often find ourselves just going through the motions of the day, trying get as much done as we can instead of experiencing the moments as gifts. And then when we are faced with losing those moments we say to ourselves ~ "if only" or "what if".

What if you were to lose one of your senses tomorrow? What would you do differently today? Or would you do anything differently? Would you stop and look at the flowers beginning to bloom, letting us know the newness of Spring is upon us? Would you really look into the eyes of a loved one as you hold them tight...taking all of them in? Would you listen, truly listen, to the song that your little one sings as she dances around the living room? Would you hold the hand of, embrace, the person you see who needs compassion and love...instead of thinking you have to do "this" before you have the time to reach out? Would you savour every bite of your meal...instead of gobbling it down before heading out the door? Would you stop and breathe in the crisp air, taking in the smells of it as if filling your body with it for the last time? Would you touch, taste, smell, see and hear life as if memorizing it....taking it in fully....because it may be the last time you get that experience? Yes....what would you do today if you knew you may not be able to do or experience it tomorrow?

Rejoice in the blessing of today....take it all in.....and truly LIVE life! :)

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~ Mahatma Ghandi

(BG....if you are reading this...send me an email via my link if you want...updates will be easier that way. I hope you are doing ok.)