We sat at a red light, all eight of us in a line, left blinkers on. The light changed and we turned the corner, went down the street for a little way, and filed into the same place on a dreary Tuesday. A line of cars poured in the other entrance to a quickly filling parking lot.

How amazing is it that all of these women (all walks of life, all different ages, married, divorced, widowed, childless, and many times mothers and grandmothers, working, homemakers, and retirees) from all over the city made it to one spot on a weekday morning with no court mandate, no clock to punch, just the shared willingness to come together, reflect, discuss, and learn? Inside, we dropped off kids, hurried to the restroom, picked up materials, and headed to each respective class. This is where it got interesting.

In the room where I was, introductions were made by asking each person to describe herself in two words. In a room full of frazzled, stretched, stressed, late, tired, worn down, and overwhelmed there was ONE happy. Oh, we had hopeful, nurturing and sensitive, but in a room full of women with more than most people could ever dream of or imagine…one happy person.

SIDEBAR: I am NOT passing judgment at ALL and I am so thankful for the grace that surrounds me in this life, but THIS was thought provoking.

Then the questions were posed. Questions even more thought provoking than the people watching I had already done.

How does our culture encourage a focus on the here‐and‐now?

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What things in life make you long for more than the here‐and‐now?

It made me think of a quote written on my journal: “Don’t miss heaven for the world.”

How often do we lose sight of everything that we have, the privilege of freedom and the rights to which most of us feel so entitled? How many times a day do we miss all the fingerprints of greatness left on earth to bring us joy?

How often do we get stressed, burdened, and overwhelmed because we feel obligated or can’t say no? How many times are we moody, grumpy, and brash due to pressures we place on ourselves and expectations that no one ever ask us to put there?

What if we could put aside all of the here-and-now, and in turn be happy? What if we pull the focus from what we assume about our life to what actually is? What if we quit making our goals according to what we should do and instead make them according to what we were meant to do? What if we sought contentment with what we have instead of what we do not?