Smoke and Clouds

I am sitting here watching the smoke from my incense stick float upwards in a single line before disapparating into the room. It is soothing, slow and beautiful. And it reminds me of when I was a child and I used to watch the clouds in the sky for hours. I remember noticing every little change that happened by making them into shapes; playing the 'I can see...' game. Don't get me wrong, I still play that game whenever I look up at a blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds, but I no longer make time to just sit and stare.

Of course I don't, I have too many other things on my mind, and my schedule always seems to have things being added to it (including some that honestly aren't that productive, but I still do them). And perhaps that's what's wrong with our lives. We rush through them, we don't look for the changes and often even the biggest ones can go unnoticed, and we no longer have time for simple pleasures. We don't stop and enjoy the moment. We don't allow ourselves to indulge in games for any period of time, afraid that if we do, something bad will happen. Well, it won't. Life will still be the same. But if you take the time, it will seem so much more than simply one thing after another after another after another. Watch the clouds, hell, watch paint dry, but take some time out and slow down.