This poem came about out of a sudden realisation that life was much more than just simply living and working. I was one of those persons who spent a lot of time at work doing many things that I thought at the time were important, to buy the things that I thought were important (like those asics running shoes). Until one day I woke up out of my bed and felt as if I never got any sleep that night. Now this feeling was not strange really but it was just the intensity that felt different. I just felt more tired than I ever had before. So I decided not to go to work that day and it was a difficult decision to make especially as I had a lot of important things that needed to be done. I had not been at home during the day for a long time and as that day progressed I realised home relieved I felt not having to run about doing anything. I felt calm as I lied there watching television all day and only getting up to make myself something to eat. No phone calls, no meetings, no deadlines and no one needing my help… wow it was heaven. So I got out my pen and some paper and this is what I wrote:

There is more to this life than what we do to pay our bills

Our health and strength matters more than life’s ills

We go from here to there moving to and fro

In order to get ahead the only way we know

Not realising that life is not as long as we hope

And as things pass us by we wonder around unable to cope

Too many things we wanted to do

Some of them old others new

They will never get done

If we can only allow ourselves to see there is more to life, then we would have already won

So take the time to be rested and be still

Take a moment if you will

And explore all the goodness and joy life has to give

What you will notice is that it’s in that moment you will begin to live.