Scouts, I wonder how many of us are really mentally awake, keep our eyes open, and are really aware of what goes on around us. I mean in this fast-paced world in which we live, how many of us ever stop to think and take a look around us at all the beautiful things that God has given us that we simply take for granted. What if they were suddenly all gone one day, maybe tomorrow. The reality of this is only too close sometimes, isn't it? A poet William H Davies in his poem LEISURE sums up very well the unfortunate truth of reality today. It goes like this:
What is this life if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass.
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can,
Enrich the smile her eyes began.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
A poor life this if, full of care.
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
We have no time to stand and stare.
Are you mentally awake, Scouts?