Taking Time to ‘Smell the Roses’

Jane Biehl is a 12-year survivor of a very rare form of blood cancer, known as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Catch up on all of Jane’s blogs here!

When I was in my mid-30s over 40 years ago, I was talking to an elementary school principal and former neighbor that I had known forever. At the time, I held an administrative position in a local library district and worked over 50 hours a week. He looked at me and said, “Jane, you are working too hard. Take some time to smell the roses.”

My friends, doctors and relatives repeatedly cautioned me to slow down, but I was always busy getting promotions, obtaining more degrees and volunteering in the community. I was frequently sick with upper respiratory problems and constantly on antibiotics.

Until I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 59 years old, my primary care provider stated that it took cancer to slow me down.

I see younger people overdoing it and making the same mistakes I did. I try to tell them to slow down, and they listen like I did at that age.

But there is something worse now. People of all ages use their cell phones and let life slip by them. I was on a cruise in beautiful Canada. We go on cruises allegedly to sightsee, relax and take it all in at least I was. We got off at a port, and when I looked around, I saw that almost everyone was checking messages and not taking pictures of Sydney’s unusual landscape, or relaxing.

I live in an apartment with a pond, many trees, deer, squirrels and wildlife. The leaves were all changing into yellow, red and orange with the gorgeous fall landscape. I take my little dog on daily walks and love to watch the squirrels scurry up the trees, the landscape changing before my eyes, and seeing my happy little dog bouncing along. I seem to be the only one not gazing at my cell phone with the dog’s leash in one hand and the cell phone in the other. If my eyes were glued to the cell phone, I would be missing all this scenery.

I have pondered why Americans work so hard. People from other countries do not understand why that is. They are very involved with families, friends, social life and churches, and look at us wondering why.

I have asked myself many times throughout my life why I am in such a hurry. I still tend to schedule several activities in one day, and then feel anxious about being on time and getting everything done. If I am in such a hurry, where do I think I am going? Wherever it is, well, why is this worth it? My answer is, I would rather take my leisurely time and enjoy the journey. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “It is the journey, not the destination.” No one gets out of life alive in the end.

I have stated many times that cancer is a brutal teacher, but not every lesson is a hard one. Being forced to slow down is not always bad. I recently saw my neighbor at an event and reminded him that he said that to me. He just smiled.

As I strut along now, I hear his voice whispering to me to “stop and smell the roses.”

And I do. We all should try it.

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