Joe Reynolds said he thinks more people need to stop and smell the roses.
International motivational speaker Matthew Kelly will be speaking about just that topic at 7 p.m. today at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 955 Alton St., where Reynolds is the director of religious education.
The event, sponsored by the Marian Peace Center of Lansing, 2016 Cogswell Drive in Lansing, is part of an international tour by Kelly, a 27-year-old native of Australia. He has spoken to more than 1 million people across 46 countries.
“We need to heed the wisdom to rest,” Reynolds said. “We need to slow down and take the time to think about what our values are and how we are spending our time and energy.”
Reynolds said Kelly has many insights to offer on encouragement and living a happy lifestyle.
“He really makes people question whether or not they are happy with their lives,” he said. “He helps people see what changes God would be inspiring us to make so our lives are healthier and happier.”
John Beutler, a coordinating officer of programs at the Marian Peace Center of Lansing, said he has heard Kelly speak before and knew people in the East Lansing area would be interested in his messages.
“He speaks to those people who are searching for a meaning in life,” he said. “We are becoming robots in this age of high technology and he helps restore optimism in breaking away from that trend.”
Beutler sells motivational tapes to people around the state, and he said the recordings of Kelly’s speeches are requested more than any other type of tape.
Tom Dierter, managing director of the Matthew Kelly Foundation, travels with Kelly all over the world for his speaking events. He said Kelly will be focusing on his new book, “The Rhythm of Life: An Antidote for Our Busy Age.”
Dierter said Kelly has a little bit of something for everyone.
“He reaches anyone from age 8 to 80,” he said. “He’s a great storyteller with points in each story where you can easily grasp what he is saying.”
Those are the best qualities of someone who is trying to reach out to people and get them to listen, Dierter said.
“His examples are very relevant to what he is addressing,” he said. “You don’t need a master’s degree to get meaning out of what he is saying.”
Dierter said Kelly tries to help people take that meaning and adopt a lifestyle that has promise of fulfillment.
“A lot of people realize their life is not what they want it to be but don’t know how to change it,” he said. “Matthew can help people realize they need to make a change.
“If you are not happy today and you do everything the same as you did it yesterday, you will be no more happy tomorrow than you are today.”
