This is a poem David L. Weatherford wrote about slowing down and enjoying life instead of racing through it. I first read it in The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. It’s a great reminder to be present and appreciate the small things life has to offer.
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.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?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.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
‘Cause you never had time
To call and say “Hi”?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift
Thrown away.
Life is not a race,
Do take it slower.
Hear the music
Before the song is over.