A Very Special Teacher


I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago
whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week
after his death, she shared some of her insight with a
classroom of students.

As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the
classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a
few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.
With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and
said, "Class is over, I would like to share with all of you,
a thought that is unrelated to class, but which 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 the power's way of telling us that
we must make the most out of every single day."

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like
you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to
school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to
notice.

It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent
- perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's
house. Or, it could be the sound of the breeze slightly
rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning
light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the
ground.

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 anytime ... it can all
be taken away."

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books
and filed out of the room silently.

That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from
school than I had that whole semester.

Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember
what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to
appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all
overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour
today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off
on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone.
For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we
often regret, but the things we didn't do.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but
by the moments that take our breath away.


Author Unknown