Entry numero dos- Chapter 2- Life is What Happens to You When You're Busy Making Other Plans

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[youtube=Uldu_1-JCJE][youtube=a2koR5zaEm8]

Katie Gavin my new favorite music artist

John Lennon said it best in his song "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" with the line "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

I'll be the first to admit it: hi my name is Danielle and I am a procrastinator (if you don't believe me my perpetual laundry pile and stack of mail will attest to it).

We all do it. Even if we try to hide it or deny it (you know who you are you closet procrastinators) it's pretty much second nature for most of the population.

When we are young we procrastinate with eating our vegetables and cleaning up our toys. As we get older it becomes procrastinating on household chores and homework. And as we get even older, it becomes procrastinating with errands, sorting the mail, sending that email, writing that thank-you card, and things like visiting with that friend you haven't seen in awhile, or taking that trip you've been meaning to take.

We are raised to plan and to look toward the future. Be "responsible" (a word we come to realize is often synonymous with "miserable" and "boring"). The thing that no one tells you is that you can't live in the future (or the past for that matter).

Sure, it's good to think ahead sometimes. It's not even a bad idea to prepare a bit for what is down the road or to take some time to think deeply about which road you want to travel down.

But once you pick that road and preparations are in place: EMBRACE IT. Live the life you have and the road you are on fully and completely, without apology or second guessing. AND, if it's really that awful: CHANGE it. Don't complain and whine about it, mope around and be depressed, taking down the general population with you. Just change it.

I am older now than I was a second ago, and so are you. This isn't a scare tactic to incite morbid thoughts of our ever fleeting mortality. It is a wake up call. A reminder. This moment, right now, is all that we have that we can ever be certain of.

Moving to Spain, like many other choices I've made in life, has had the same effect as diving head first into an icy cold pool of water. It is a shock to the system; jolting me awake, making me feel alive and invigorated, infusing my entire being with a heightened sense of awareness.

It has reminded me of how important it is to constantly look at the world with new eyes and to not take things for granted.

Such as the ability to communicate thoughts and feelings with ease. Moving somewhere that I had never been before where I do not speak the native language has given me so much appreciation for anyone who has a communication barrier, not to mention a truer understanding of what immense challenges our ancestors faced in their immigration and how brave they had to have been.

That being said, as an homage to them (our ancestors), lets stop procrastinating. Lets appreciate the little things and the big things alike that they worked so hard to provide us with. YES, some bad will come our way in life. That is the law of averages and a part of living on this planet. But good things happen too. Lets focus on that for a change. Send the email. Write the card. Call that friend. TAKE the trip. Stop counting on tomorrow and start focusing on today.

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Photos

What better way to spend the day...
This is at Retiro park in Madrid which is a wonderful and beautiful place to escape the city madness

In the center of it all...
This is a photo of me and Kristin my new friend from Germany. We are standing in Puerta del Sol (Spanish for "Gate of the Sun") which is in the exact center of Madrid with all radial roads leading out from there. The statue behind us is the Bear and The Madrono Tree, the symbol of Madrid.

Oh what a view...
My friend Janet & I on one of our sightseeing days around Madrid before she left to go back to Boston... Check out that breathtaking view...

Kiss the donkey...
I'm not sure if kissing the donkey is the same as kissing a frog but I figured, "What the hell, it can't hurt"... ;D This is Janet & I in the center of Plaza de Espana where there is a statute of Miguel Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. Beneath Cervantes is a bronze statute of Don Quixote on his horse Rocinanate, with Sancho Panza on his donkey (the one I'm kissing).

City skyline...
One more angle to capture the beauty of the Madrid skyline...

Comments

[Slim Jim fka Hamburgler]

Light Bulb
Taking things for granted and letting days slip away is what some of us struggle with. Putting off till tomorrow what can be done today is a problem I can relate to as well. I love the updates and the fact you're staying connected, hopefully the light bulb will turn on for more and they will 'carpe diem'. Cuidar a mi amiga.

[Jenn]

Sounds like a chapter in the making :-)
Hey Love! I appreciate the message here. So are you saying that procrastination isn't so bad at the end of the day when the reason for it is that you were busy living in the moment.... I mean my pile of clean laundry on my chair is annoying but it's clean and if I take the time to put it away... well I might miss out on some other great opportunity that today has to offer. Miss you lots and looking forward to many more of these inspirational entries!! :-)

[discovertheworld]

Te desejo che disfrutes mucho a Espagna! Irina