Four Reasons to Slow Down... and Stop

         This was what the sky looked one early morning. I got out of my car and instead of heading into my school building, I looked in a different direction... and saw this sunrise. (I know my photography skills are laughable but it was a gorgeous sky.) The beautiful colors reminded me of one reason to stop occasionally:

You might miss something if you insist on always charging forward. The middle school boys had a big-deal basketball game on Saturday, part of a 52nd annual tournament my school hosts. Our team was behind by 20 points. They were younger and smaller than the other team and our basket had a lid on it.

I stepped out of the gym and into the hall to talk to a few parents. While I was gone, the game ended, and the boys had closed the gap to the point they were only 6 points behind. I'd missed it! (They have their second game tonight, and you can be sure I won't leave the gym for a single minute--not until the final buzzer sounds.)

You won't get to hear a story--it'll be gone forever. Yesterday I was in a bit of a rush to get to a meeting by 4. A student wanted to talk after school. That was cool--I still had plenty of time. But when I walked out, I saw a family that lives close to the school. They were out on their porch. I walked up their steps, meaning to just chat for a minute, and ended up talking for almost thirty minutes. In that short time, they asked, "What's the story behind your name?" (and I told them), they shared how mental illness has touched their family, I shared how it's touched mine... and if I hadn't stopped by, I would have missed out on feeling that sense of kinship.

You won't laugh as much. Savoring a joke, or responding with humor instead of frustration--that usually takes a bit more time. Definitely, however, the extra time is worth it.

Your belly won't get rubbed as much. Whoops. This one, I learned from Lizzie. Lizzie is a tripod who lives in my school's neighborhood. Usually she's on a walk when I'm getting out of my car, and I get to pet her. Lizzie knows what's important. As her mom is trying to coax her into continuing the walk, Lizzie knows it's more important to flop down into the grass and roll over so I can rub her tummy. Sometimes she decides to just lie down on the ground for a while and feel the breeze. Wouldn't life be more pleasant if we all lived life more like Lizzie?

And if you want to hear about the writing things I've learned from a television show I love, go here. 

And how about you? What have you seen or enjoyed lately, that you would have missed out on if you'd rushed by it?