Why Say No When You Can Say Yes

Why walk through life when you can run?

When you can hop, skip, and jump...

For no real reason at all other than because it makes you smile.

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Why eat broccoli when you can have ice cream?

And macaroni and pizza and freshly baked croissants…

Or maybe a Herseys Kiss just to let it melt on your tongue.

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Why go to bed early when you can stay up late and watch the stars?

And hear the sounds of the night as the moon shows her brilliance...

With your feet to a fire and eyes to the sky welcoming the Milky Way to the party.

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Why speak in solemn tones when you can exclaim in wonder?

When you can shout with joy and whisper in awe…

Or sometimes yell in pain and let out your anguish.

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Why stay in one place when you can roam the earth?

When you can hear the sounds of the mountains and rivers and oceans and plains...

Knowing you can lay your head in a different place and wake to a new horizon every day.

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Why be fearful when the only thing you have to lose is time?

And risk the minutes and days and years slipping away along with your dreams...

When all you really have to do is open your heart and step into it.

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Why be lonely when there are so many to love?

Friends and stray puppies and that stranger you just passed that could be the one you're waiting for…

But you’re too scared to look them in the eye and really let someone in.

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Why say no when you can say yes?

To afternoon coffee dates, chasing down the ice cream truck, and playing on a swingset…

To trying the new Skittles flavor, to dancing in the rain, to helping a stranger on the street…

To jumping in the car and heading west, to having a second slice of pie, to going on a blind date...

To skipping through the forest and jumping over creeks…

To being happy.

To being alive.