In the movie, “City Slickers,” Jack Palance played a crusty old cowboy with a world full of wisdom. His words to Billy Crystal were intended to get the city dude to think about what’s really important in life. “One thing . . .” he said, but he never finished. What was that “one thing,” that would change his attitude for the future. What’s the “one thing” that has the power to do that in our lives?

When we’re children, our minds seem to focus on the small things.  We learn quickly to use our imagination to create something out of nothing.  Everything is new to us and we explore life with the challenge of discovery.  As we grow older, we lose some of that ingenuity.  We learn that some things can hurt us – some things lead to getting ourselves into trouble – some things can change the way we do things in the future.

I think it’s important for us to think about some of the little things in our lives that bring enjoyment to us – like looking at the clouds and trying to paint pictures out of them; or examine a leaf and see all the intricacies within it; or find pleasure in the smile of another person; take a leap of faith; do something silly just for the fun of it.

As time takes its toll on us, we get so wrapped up in the details of living, that we forget to look at the whole picture.  God created the world for our enjoyment.  He also created each of our senses so that we could soak in every part of that environment. When we reach our golden years, some of those memories are rekindled, because our lives have diminished to a snail’s pace and we have more time to look at them again.  The circle of life I guess.

Our world is full of enough tragedy, hate, ugliness and bad stuff.  Maybe it’s time to become childlike again.  We need to look at life with new eyes and savor every minute of it.  Tomorrow will take care of itself. Our existence on this earth is limited. We have just so much time to accomplish our goals, but while we’re working towards them, let’s not forget to enjoy the little things that God gives us along the way.