We often hear the phrase ‘Live every day as if it were your last’ but I think there’s an equally important one; “Live every day as if it were your first!”
I honestly believe that if you see all of your experiences as new and fresh then they become so. There’s nothing quite like the expression on a child’s face when they experience something for the first time; that look of awe and excitement and usually, happiness. Somewhere along the way we lose that. We take each experience for granted. In the current cynical climate, “Been there, done that” is a popular phrase. It’s a shame. We don’t have to look at the world that way. Does a beautiful landscape lose its appeal because it is familiar. Are the Pyramids less awe inspiring the second time around, or the Burj Khalifa? How about the praise you received at work, or that hug from your loved ones?
It doesn’t have to be the obvious things though. Sitting in my garden I love to see the flowers and the birds and the sun: and it never gets old, because I try not to let it. I wish I was that disciplined in all areas of my life. Often when going to work I feel, like I’m sure most people do at times, that it’s “another day at work”; but it isn’t. It’s a new day at work; an opportunity for new experiences and interactions with people; new achievements and lessons. I know that if I were to look at the world this way more often I would appreciate my life more and complain less.
Every year I want to live 365 days; not one day, 365 times! So tomorrow, I hope I can practice what I preach.
Life, a work in progress 
Grey skies in Dubai – not so grey after all.
January 18, 2011 by KarenPendragon
The skies were grey today in Dubai. As always I heard people say “yes but where’s the rain” or “it’s so dull”. Well I’m sure the rain will be here when it’s ready and then we will complain when it floods! The sun will be back very soon and later, we will be too hot!
There’s great beauty to be seen when the skies are grey. There are things you can see in Dubai that you don’t see when the sun is shining. Some buildings appears to stand out more when they are not upstaged by the sun. The colours around can seem changed. What was grey can become pale lilac; what had no colour now has presence, the sky that was pale blue is now a metallic midnight framed by white and grey cushions. Looking in the water, through the waves, instead of the silver sparkling on the surface, the sea gives up its glaze and we see what’s inside. (Sometimes good, sometimes not so much!)
It probably makes no sense but is feels different. There’s a calm that seems to settle, like a lace blanket quieting the scene.
I love the sun; the brightness, the warmth and the feeling of wellbeing that it awards. It is one of the reasons I love living in Dubai. It’s easy to take the sun for granted but it is only on loan, and so while it’s away we get to see something else; instead of Dubai gold, Dubai silver.
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