Taking Time to Smell the Roses

I would like to share with all of you a thought that I feel is very important.

Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day.

So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, as you go along through your day, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent -- perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light breaks through the window early in the day.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life - the little things we are put here on earth to enjoy - the things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time...it can all be taken away.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Michelle came and had lunch with me and we spent some time talking about a butterfly we were noticing. Stop off on the way
home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream cone. Pay attention to the rain.

For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.

“Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened. Enjoy your life to the fullest."

Wishing you well,Ric

Consider The Cigar

"A fine cigar is the essence of life. The tobacco plant comes from the earth, from which we ourselves were created. Like ourselves, each leaf grows and is nurtured individually, acquiring its own characteristics, and is then graded, sorted, and matured according to their special abilities. As tobacco comes to its graduation in the making of cigars, as with the making of adults, some is left on the cutting room table and become ordinary, run-of-the-mill products. Some graduate into leadership and areas of responsibility, but a few achieve greatness, and even a touch of immortality. "

American humorist, Mark Twain, said, "If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go!"

Someone once said, "There are five things, above all else, that make life worth living: a good relationship with God, a good woman, good health, good friends, and a good cigar. "

A proverb states, "God made tobacco grow to put a smile on the faces of men."

"Blessed be the man who invented the cigar, the soother and comforter of a troubled spirit, allayer of angry passions, and comfort through life."

And, it has been said, "A fine cigar is like a fine woman. They come in all shapes and sizes. Treat them tenderly and lovingly. Caress their skin, admire their beauty, fondle them with reverence. Bring them slowly to your lips, enjoy their flavor, their aroma. Contemplate their essence, their dependability, and forgive them their weaknesses - if there be any. Revel in the rituals, their simplicity and their enduring meanings. Do these things, my son, and the blessings of life shall always be upon you."

To me, there's something about smoking a cigar that feels like a celebration. It just makes the day, the moment, feel special.


Enjoy, Ric