Today I stopped to smell a flower.  Today I stopped and closed my eyes as the wind rushed in my face.  Today I stayed to sit and talk to a total stranger.  Some people do this every day of their lives, where others take for granted the every day beauties which surround us continually.  We take for granted there will be another tomorrow,  There will be another time when we can stop and talk and share a smile.  We take for granted that our health will take care of itself.  We take LIFE for GRANTED!

I was one of those people, who rushed to my job everyday, never stopping to smell the flowers, walk in the park, or to just breathe.  I took for granted there would always be tomorrow to accomplish the things I was not doing today.  If I only knew what I know now! Nine years ago to this very day, May 27, I was given what I thought at the time was a death sentence.  I was told that I was HIV-Positive,that my life as I had known it was going to change drastically.  I remember walking from my Doctor's office out to my car, and just sitting there, looking around me, and finally seeing that now Life was taking me for Granted!

I remember walking into a book store the very next day to buy as much literature as I could find on this disease that was raging through my body, and just above the cash register was a plaque which read "When you find a dream inside your heart don't ever let it go...For dreams are the tiny seeds from which tomorrows grow."  This little plaque had the most powerful words, and these words also changed how I was going to deal with my life, my health and as well as society's distaste for this virus and what it represents.  I knew that from this day forward, I needed to plant those tiny seeds Today!!  Not Tomorrow!!  To take control of my body, mind and spirit.

The first step to doing this was to smell the flowers, sit with a friend or a stranger and give your love and heart to that person.  I smiled at every person who passed me, I made sure to breathe in the fresh air, to LIVE!!  This was not going to be a death sentence, I was fighting for my life and now had so many reasons to do so, the most important person I needed to do this for, was me.

 Always encourage your inner strengths, push all the positivity you have forward.  Look in the mirror every day and tell yourself how much you are worth in this life, how much you love yourself and give yourself a warm hug.  We are all Survivors, none of us are Quitters, deep down inside of us lurks our self-esteem, our courage, our tenacity for life, our zeal to go forward and not backwards!!  We have the power to be strong, beautiful, Survivors of Life.

First I was dying to finish school and start college.
And then I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then I was dying to marry and have children.
And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work.
And then I was dying to retire.
And now..I am dying...
And suddenly I realize I forgot to live.