Smelling Roses: Part 1 of 3

mt marcy

Growing up my dad and I took time each summer to backpack. I look back on those times very fondly and hope that I will begin backpacking with my kids as they get older. Almost all of my backpacking took place in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. Some times we would hike 15 to 20 miles in a day so that we could ascend to the top of one of the 46 high peaks. The views were always so wonderful once you got to the top.

As a young kid much of what I stopped to enjoy was the views from the peak. I always thought my dad was goofy for taking pictures of flowers and spider webs. As I would rush up the trails to get to the destination and then fly down the mountains to get back to camp my dad would always try to get me to slow down and enjoy the views along the way. I remember times when he would stop and have me come back to him so I could look out over a cliff and see a beautiful view. For me it was always about the destination and never about the journey. I couldn’t wait to get to the top to say that I had completed the journey and tackled another of the 46 high peaks.

I have found that it is so hard to stop and enjoy the journey! I want to get things done and play when the task is completed. This causes me to be driven to get things done. At times this can be quite valuable but I find that it also means that I get to miss the enjoyment of the process. I miss the joy of the people along the way because I push hard to get things done. This push relegates people to tools to get things done. Parenting is another things that I often want to see accomplished rather than enjoying the journey with my kids. By God’s grace I have been given a view of what I would like to see our kids be like as they grow older. I work towards that view understanding that the view can change. Understanding the importance of each moment, of the journey means that I will also maximize the enjoyment of life for both myself and my kids. God is also helping me realize this and to slow down. To enjoy the journey leads to us getting the most out of everything that is accomplished. When we complete the task without the joy of the journey we not only miss out on many teachable moments but we also miss out on the opportunity to grow with others. As my dad (of course the statement isn’t original to him) would always tell me:

Stop and take time to smell the roses!

In my next post we are going to explore further this idea of smelling the roses but next time we are going to explore why this idea is not complete.