Extreme

It's amazing how warm 10 degrees feels after a few days of below zero temps. Not too far from now (hopefully) it'll reach 50 degrees and you'll see folks walking around in shorts. It's a trick of the cold--after the fall you realize how much you can bare. And after the summer when autumn comes again and temps slip those same folks who dressed for summer in the cool spring won't be holding on to their summer clothes. Even though the temps will be the same, their bodies won't bare it the same. It's as if we don't know what we are capable of unless the rug of comfort is pulled out from under us. I'm not wishing extremes on anyone, but my point is once you are there, that is when you find yourself, your strength, your will. But why do we wait? Why does it take getting knocked down to remind us to live with more gusto? Is the answer that we simply don't challenge ourselves enough in our day to day lives? That we allow ourselves to get stuck? I'm reminded of all those stories you hear from people who've had near-death experiences, how every one of them says this--live every day like it's your last. To take nothing for granted. It's not an easy thing to do when faced with all of our commitments and work and tasks, but maybe it is enough to find one thing in a day that stirs awe in us. And really, it takes hardly any time at all to feel appreciation.