 "If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward." ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The final days of Shirley Dona Schaefer's life were full of quiet reflection. I watched her comfort her sons, grandchildren, friends, offering them bits of wisdom to hold onto once she was gone and pouring her light and love over all of us. Not once did she mention a workplace, a grudge held, things in her life that had gone wrong, nor the pain she was in as she slipped away bit by bit. Instead, she focused on love, the future, and the things she thought had true value. One thing she said to me will stick with me the rest of my days..."Don't wait, sweetheart." So simple and yet utterly profound when applied to, well, just about everything! Don't wait:
How much of our lives are spent hesitating, putting off, settling, or simply existing? When I look back over the forty-five years of my own life, it annoys me to see just how much time I have wasted...mostly on people, places and things that don't matter AT ALL! It helps to know I'm not alone, but it helps even more to be aware and in control of whether or not I allow said waste to ever happen again. Today I am happy for inspiring words from a mother who took me in as her own, and for all of the opportunities she has given me, inspired in me, and encouraged me to pursue! Viva la Vida (Latin: long live life; the life lives)!
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About The Author
I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter. Archives
August 2021
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