What does "take time to smell the roses" mean to you?

I think it was LBJ who said he wished he had took some time to walk around his rose garden. Probably meaning he needed more time to think about the situations he was dealing with. For me it means taking the time to not only visualize something and know that it’s there, but to enjoy it with other human senses. (Not only see the beauty of it, smell it, which leads possibilities of touch it, and even hear it if you could capture the audio of it’s buds open at the crack of the sun).

It means to slow down and enjoy life. I made the conscious decision to do just that some years back. The time still seems to be going by so very quickly. I don’t anything to slow it other than to inflict some type of misery upon myself. Nah, I will not do that.

I would like to say to those parents of young children to heed these words. The years in which your children grow up are beautiful and special. Try not to be so busy that you miss the wonder of it.

To me, it means stay in the moment and don’t be rushing headlong into tomorrow. Enjoy the journey instead of being totally focused on the outcome. All those sorts of things. It is easy to say and makes sense too, but I find it difficult to practice. I am way too goal oriented in a lot of my endeavors. Then one day I wake up and wonder where has the time gone all because I was looking ahead too much of the time!

GQ Jakey, how you feeling, are you all better now?

Slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures of life that you might otherwise miss.

Contemplating.

Ooh look, a tin of chocolates, they do smell nice.
27 seconds later, they are devoured in a “feeding frenzy” by the family.

Calm down and chill out.

Appreciate the beauty that is around you.

And for you @Hawaii_Jake , another of of my favorite poems:

“The way a crow
Shook down on me
A dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And save some part
Of a day I had rued.”

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

It’s like, dude, if you’re in a rose garden, you gotta get over your fear and like lean down and take a whiff, dig? The blooms ain’t go no thorns. And if you’re smellin’ the stems, you got bigger problems than I can help you with.

“Don’t get so warpped up in struggling for a living that you forget about the finer things in life.”

To me, it means to stop in the busy hustle and bustle of life to enjoy nature and the little moments that make life so special.

Yes, it means to notice, pay attention, be aware of your surroundings, and take the time to appreciate slowing down and noticing the beauty and peace of the natural world.
I am fortunate that I live in a place where this is a daily occurrence without effort.

When beauty is around you, or you are in the middle of something wonderful, something that makes you happy, stop and focus on the moment. If you consciously focus on it, the moment lasts longer, time slows down, suspends itself. Your moments of glee will last longer.

Take a moment to look around you to enjoy the small things that are a wonder of nature. When many of us were watching owls hatch and fledge, I heard someone say, “I never noticed birds before.” Now that’s a person who never stopped to smell the flowers.

Not much.

Morning coffee.

Appreciate the sensual world.

The radio clock woke me this morning with Mozart’s clarinet symphony, one of my favorite pieces of music.

I sat in a chair in the bedroom, petted Milo, watched the red-tails riding the thermals outside my large windows and listened to the entire piece.

Then I seized the day.

It means jumping on the bike on a nice warm Sunday morning and riding into the woods and possibly even really smelling the roses at some of the properties bordering the bike trail. I also like to take my dog with me. He is not, however interested in roses, he seems very interested in the latest pee message. To each his own.

LMAO @Ron_C

I know what you mean. I am usually the one who takes the doggies for their morning constitutional. My old golden retriever/cocker spaniel is pretty calm about things nowdays, but my wife’s little miniature snauzer is demented! He tries to smell and pee on every blade of grass it seems!

Hey, I’ve just been out smelling the goose and horse poo. Aaah, the pungent aroma of recycled grass. How sweet it is. lololol

ROFLMAO @Coloma

Dude! You need a gas mask! : D

It can also mean “take your head out of your ass”.

Be present and live in the present moment.

It reminds me of another saying “he/she always comes out smelling if roses” -
meaning when they’re in the sh*t—(roses are traditionally fed horsey poo)—they always manage to come out of it for the better

A bowl, some beer, and sitting outside with some tunes.

Telling my brain to shut up and leave the past and leave the future and be mindful about the here and now. And discover one new thing on a routine day.

Literally, ‘take’ time. As in, take ‘in’ the time now, into myself and enjoy the moment. Being in the /now’, being in the ‘present’ and relishing it as long as it lasts.