Wise Words from John Lennon

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Beatles. My interest in their music began in the 8th grade and has remained ever since.

This morning I was listening to John Lennon during my commute to work and was reminded of one of my favorite quotes of all time. Now, I'm not much for quoting, but this one is awesome. And no, it's not from "Imagine". It's actually from a song called "Beautiful Boy" that John wrote for his son, Sean. In it, he sings about how beautiful his little boy is and how he's looking forward to seeing him grow up and experience all the stepping stones of life. In fact he says "I can hardly wait, to see you come of age, but until then we'll have to be patient." In a lyric buried in the middle of the song, he later says "Life is what happens to you when your busy making other plans." That's the line that gets to me.

I've often thought about how true that is, and it's especially true now. In the midst of all of our planning and dreaming about our baby, I really don't want to miss out on the everyday joys of life right now. I want to enjoy every kick I feel, every call from my parents who want to share in the excitement of this time, every conversation with a good friend, and even every bus ride to work. Because, after all, we really don't know how much time we have on this earth and life truly is the everyday things that happen to us.

Sadly, within one year of writing "Beautiful Boy", John Lennon was shot dead in front of his apartment building. He wasn't able to see his son "come of age". Still, I think he was wise enough to recognize the beauty of and fully enjoy the time he did have with his son.