New Year's Eve fireworks at Circular Quay, Sydney. 'Twas a wonderful night to be young, alive and sitting up there watching fireworks paint the sky..

What is it about fireworks that thrills us so much?
Why do we long for it, look for it, live for that one short moment of amazing wonder and happiness... why?

It occurred to me tonight that our lives are much like a fireworks show. We are amazed and inspired by the times when colourful fireworks light up our lives - times when we feel alive, excited, in awe and amused. And when the fireworks pause briefly in between rounds, the darkness and the quiet is amplified by its absence - yet it is a good darkness and quiet; one that is appreciated as a necessary experience in contrast to all that excitement.

As long as this alternation of highs and lows is in motion, we can engage in life - in the now.

But what happens when the show is over? That long wait in between the last show and the next? We wait and we search, passing the time running around in circles until the next thrill comes our way. Somewhere in the midst of all that running, we're so busy looking down at the ground that we miss the show happening around us altogether.

What are we waiting for? That next show? That next job, relationship, adventure, success, house, car, holiday? That next show isn't 'coming soon', it's already happening right now. We just have to stop running, look up and see that there's a whole lot more to life than we thought there was.

Live now. Love now. Life's too short to miss the fireworks.