Carpe Diem!

Today I ate lunch at the New York Public Library.  It is a majestic piece of architecture, flanked on either side by lions made of stone.  The library takes up a full city block on Fifth Avenue between 40th and 41st Avenues.  Tourists and residents alike line the makeshift park directly in front of the library to people-watch while eating a quick lunch or taking a break from a long day of sightseeing.

I got more than I bargained for today in the park.  Instead of just enjoying my lunch and observing those around me, a life lesson snuck up on my consciousness and joined the ranks of the others in my personal value system.

I watched two young women walk up the library steps.  They passed an empty table, recently vacated by a lone tourist.  Empty tables are a rare commodity in the park during the busy lunch hour time.  The women looked at the empty table, walked a few feet passed it and stopped to discuss their options.  The table, albeit small for two occupants, was in a shaded area, with two chairs and would have afforded them a front row seat to the bustling Fifth Avenue traffic. 

I casually observed them as one would observe two elephants mating in the zoo.  I chewed my spinach salad and listened to them discuss whether they wanted to take their chances for a better table further down the park.  I was flabbergasted as I listened to their exchange.  Did they know how long an empty table stayed empty at the library?  Did they not see the opportunity that was before them?

Finally, they decided that the table would suffice.  They turned around in unison only to discover that the empty table was no longer available.  Disappointed, the girls continued through the park and finally made themselves comfortable on the stone steps of the library, smack in the middle of the noonday's broiling sun.  It was the best they could find.  Or was it?

That's when it occurred to me that many of us have the same moments of hesitation and contemplation in our lives when we should be moving forward towards every open door.  When we are given an opportunity, we should take it for what it is instead of complaining that the particulars aren't perfect, as in the case of the small table.  They overlooked the benefit of the shade and the front row seat to Fifth Avenue.  Hell, they overlooked the chairs! 

And so, as they ate their lunch in the sun, on the scorching ground, with their food precariously balanced in their laps, a wiser, more opportunistic pair seized the table.

Don't let someone else claim what could be rightfully yours.  Don't talk about what could be if only you had a few breaks in life.  Get out there and claim your dreams before someone else claims it for you!