Waiting Room Poem

The poem below hit me in my heart center this morning as my family and I were awakened around sunrise to both fire alarms blaring. This was a first for me and I’m thankful to the local police, fire and natural gas companies who came out to make sure we were safe. The silent killer CO2 was the cause, so luckily we’re still here because we were awakened by the alarms and didn’t slide silently into our eternal rest this morning. The first few lines of Donna Ashworth’s poem really hit home for me in ways you can only imagine now knowing the back story of my hectic morning. Read on and perhaps it will ping at your heartstrings too and remind you to live…today….and everyday!

WAITING ROOM

What if you didn’t wake up tomorrow

and your soul is watching down thinking of all the things you didn’t get to do yet

because you were too scared, or too fat, or too worried about money.

And all the things you told yourself you weren’t good enough for,

swam in front of your eyes, fighting for a place in the line,

beside the words you didn’t say and the joy you forgot to have.

My friend, there is absolutely no room for anything in your day, other than acceptance.

You will never have enough money, or time,

and you will certainly never have that perfect body

the world told you you need to be happy.

And before you say it’s too late to embrace this thing we call life, no it is not.

You can do it right where you are. Right this minute.

Get outside, breathe, look at the trees, put your bare feet on the grass –

hand on your heart to feel that pulse – and that’s it.

You’re living.

Keep that up.

Wait up for the moon sometimes or get up early to see a sunrise, just because you can.

Jump in the lake. Run, skip.

The things you need to feel alive are free and all around my friend.

You just have to see them.

Let in opportunity and say yes to the invitations that scare you a little, in a good way.

Say no to some of the things you force yourself to do,

knowing they rinse you of your peace.

Life was never supposed to be a waiting room, it was supposed to be a hillside,

with paths leading in every direction and mountains as far as the eye can see,

hiding adventures and new friends behind them.

Don’t let yourself get to the end of this ride

without having stopped to smell those beautiful roses.

That’s the only thing you need to fear in this life.

Everything else is all part of it.

It’s all just a messy, complicated, beautiful and terrifying part of it.

Chin up, throw your arms wide open

and let it be so.

By: Donna Ashworth