At home, we usually can remember to take a moment to smell the roses. Vacationers tend to take that time - it maybe their purpose for taking a vacation! When traveling, however, especially for the Road Warrioress - expat, PT, or harried long-haul business traveler - too often we fail to take a moment to smell the jasmine or lavender or whatever is two feet from nostrils.
One of my fondest memories of Singapore is watching a teeny-tiny bird of the most brilliant yellow plumage out the window of my home-office. One of my regrets is failing to explore the public library there. I lived a few minutes' walk from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, and held off spending five bucks admission - to my eternal rue. An exquisite hummingbird with its long beak deep in the trumpet of a flower hovered within two feet of me while going for a stroll in Indonesia. But I never made it across the broad Mahakam River to explore Samarinda.
It's always the little things we treasure most, yet are most inclined to miss. Tired you may well be, but it's worth every effort to see something a city or country offers. It recharges your batteries to take on the next round! An hour's respite, or even a moment, ups your energy levels as well as your spirits.
Wherever you go, whatever else you do, take a moment to savor something in your surroundings. Business can wait a second while you take a good deep sniff of a rose. Savor the moment - you'll never regret the little things you see and do when you stop to smell the roses or jacaranda, or watch a bird or butterfly.
May your road rise to meet you - and may you enjoy your moments on that road!
Ann
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