We just got back from an Alaskan cruise and the sights and scenery were literally unlike anything I have ever seen. It was simply breath taking to see Alaska. We went on a four day land excursion before we got on the cruise ship and the places and sights we saw will be the stories of a lifetime.

When we got on the cruise ship there was one aspect that I got to laughing about that I want to share with you. My dad once told me something that is true about cruises. He said that if you time it just right, you can eat 14 times a day. Ha. He was so correct.

Well the buffet line was a source of much amusement for me. You have never seem so much pushing and shoving to get to the food in all of your life. You would think that these people hadn’t eaten for week when in reality they just ate two hours ago. It was particularly funny to watch people from various regions in the US as well as different nationalities. They would break in line, elbow you out of the way and God help them if there was one piece of pizza left. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The people (especially the ladies) over 75 were really the most amusing to watch. You would think that they would be the easiest to get along with and very gentle etc. Not so. They would just come and get in front of you and dare you to say anything. Ha

So there was clearly enough food for everyone to eat 14 times a day without stopping so what made them so aggressive over the food? Well, the fact is that to a certain point we are all that way at times. Have you ever just gotten out of church and get mad when the traffic is slow? Get even madder when the line at the restaurant is long? In life have you ever had thoughts like, I need to get ahead of them, beat them, be more successful than him/her, get there first, do better than that person, etc.? Impatience is within all of us and to some it just gets triggered quicker than others but it is in all of us. Are we always in a hurry?

Slowing down time is hard to do but one of the first steps is to be kind and patient on purpose. It’s a choice. I saw several men on the cruise in wheelchairs and when you see this it stops you in your tracts because you realize how very blessed you are and it keeps you from being in a hurry. The food, the job promotion, the sale or whatever we are in a hurry to get will be much more enjoyable if we don’t run over other people to get it.

I have to hurry up and finish this blog so I get in the front of the buffet line. Ha. KT