Upon never believing in coincidences~

"Good evening" to you all from "home" in Reno County, Kansas on a cold winter's evening in late January.  This has been a heck of a long day but a good one regardless and as night has fallen, I am still here on this earth, alive and kicking.  Somewhere today, perhaps in my own county or shoot, maybe even down the block a ways, someone else who woke up this morning didn't make it through the day.  They could have been young or old, ill in health or "healthy as a horse" but for whatever their reason their time on earth had come to fruition.  I think of that very thing from time to time as life goes on and marvel in the blessings that life continues to bring to me.  

I bought a book to take with me to Colorado last weekend, "Live, like you were dying" with the message therein related to the words of Tim McGraw's famous song of several years back.  I was so busy having a great time in Montrose with my dear friend Mike, that I didn't even open it up once while I was there.  Yet when I got home on Monday evening it was the first thing that I sat down to look at.  It didn't take long to read it or to become touched by the words that the special message contained.  My favourite page contains the following message....my apologies to the authors of the book for using their words without permission and I surely do give 100 percent of the credit to the thoughts below to them.  But I want you to read what they wrote and may you hold it as close to your heart as I have in the past few days.  

From the words of Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman from their book, "Live Like You Were Dying"......

We're all terminal.
Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.

Life is a spiritual journey.
And sometimes all you have to do is just show up
and have a little faith that something completely amazing is possible any day.

And every now and then, 
right when you least expect it, 
something amazing does happen.

And you are no more in control
than a feather is of the wind.
All you know is that the force moving you is so strong
that you just hang on in wonder.

There is nothing but the moment
and the sense of dancing with angels.

So alive!

I'm not sure why at this point in time their words have meant so much to me.  Perhaps it is because I have spent so much of life trying to be in control and change things that I never would have been able to change in the first place.  I would be the first to admit, with hand held high in the air, that I "Peggy Miller" have spent a great deal of my life worrying about the wrong things and when I think of the times that I've wasted along the way, well...it's a sobering thought for sure.  That's why I vowed a couple of years back that I would live my life to the fullest and concentrate as best I could on doing those things which I had a deep desire to accomplish.  It hasn't always worked out but if I do say so myself, I'm getting a whole lot better at it.

My recent trip to the Western slopes of Colorado was a good example, at least for me, of finally relinquishing my "stronghold" on the worries and troubles of this life.  What a freeing feeling it was to be able to go and for 99.9 percent of the time, concentrate on having fun and enjoying life.  I cannot recall a time in the recent past where I spent 48 hours without a worry in my heart.  I'm glad I was able to feel that and to know in my heart that I was where I should be at the time.  I'm imagining that some of you reading this are probably a lot like me and you know who you are.  If so, rest assured that so many of us have made the mistake of thinking that we had to carry the "weight of the world" upon our shoulders.  Yet, I have found out through my  own personal experiences, that carrying the extra weight of problems we cannot solve does little more than give us the most horrendous back ache ever.  So right now, feel free to throw off the excess~it will feel good, believe me.

One of the many things I've come to realize in this life would be this~There are absolutely NO coincidences.  I'm a firm believer in the thought that everything that has happened to me is a part of "the plan".  People and situations in life happen at just the right time, the pre-destined time for all of us.  I felt the strange feeling of counting down the last few precious moments before I pulled out of Montrose on Monday morning and REALLY appreciating the gifts that life had amazingly brought to me as of late.  From now on, I make the choice "not to forget" and certainly to never take for granted anything or anyone.  My hope is the same for you my friends...hang on a little tighter to the people who care about what happens to you in this life.  THEY are your gifts, so please, never forget it.  

Well, night time has definitely settled in now.  The sun set has come and gone now; the evening hour is upon us.  Have a good evening every one and a peaceful night's rest.  Take care of yourselves and the loved ones around you~peace!

               The winter time sun sets in the western sky, here in Reno County, Kansas.

                                  In the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, January of 2013
Winter time and I are "foes" from long, long ago.  Yet somehow, I forgot all of that and became enchanted with a place where snow falls and stays for a long, long time.  It was wonderful~