Life's Pace Poem by William J. (Skip) Henderson Jr.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.
The days get shorter, our list of dreams gets longer.
All we have to show for it is a litany of I'm going to, I plan on,
Someday when things are settled down a bit.'

Because we cram so much into our lives,
We tend to even schedule our headaches.
We live on a diet of promises to ourselves
When all the conditions are perfect, tell ourselves lies

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry-go-round
Or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask 'How are you? ' Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?

Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.'
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?
Because you didn’t just write or call to say 'Hi?

Life is like an unopened gift....Thrown away
When you worry and hurry through your day,
Life is not a race to live at such a frantic pace
Take it slower, hear the music before the song is over.

Listen to the words that make you’re your heart quiver
SEE the snow in the mountains, in the cold you shiver
Watch a toddler learn in a moment of discovery
See their joy and emulate what you see.

In the school of life each day is a classroom of
Experiences we need to develop our selves.
Stop, slow down and love, make the world
Around you a better place to live and be lived in.