Time Marches On

         
         

                       Time Marches On

I was in Calgary, Alberta last week: that’s far enough north that the sunsets there this time of year don’t happen until nearly 10 pm. And that got me thinking about the lengthening and shortening of the days around each equinox.

While it’s not top of mind, I am vaguely aware that the sun comes up progressively earlier leading up to this month’s equinox because I walk my two crazy dogs every morning.  And because these cycles have occurred every year of my life, I tend to take them for granted.  But then I was forced to note the later sunset times in that northern area and started thinking about how time marches on.

Actually, we take many things that go on around us for granted, and it’s only the occurrence of an abrupt change like this that brings us back to an awareness of our life’s norms. My body is used to the sun setting at around 8pm here now, so it was very noticeable when at 10pm it was still bright in that more northern latitude. And here’s what I started thinking: don’t get so caught up in your habits or the way things always happen that you fail to notice the common everyday changes all around you.

And this then led me to wondering what else we tend to overlook or take for granted because we’re so influenced by our habits. Email and tweets keep us looking at computers and cell phones rather than focusing on those physically around us, and work schedules are religiously adhered to rather than noting what else we might need to do to balance our lives; things like these can inadvertently allow habits to obscure more important things…. like time marching on.

We need to slow down and notice nature’s signs so that we are more attuned to the importance of time and what’s going on around us.  We need to stop and enjoy what’s happening now, and think about the meaning of things rather than letting them continue on unnoticed or under appreciated.  After all, time and its passage really does affect just about everything else in our lives. So make time today to take the time for the really important things in your life.

My message this week is about knowing when and how to do what’s right:

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Eleanor Roosevelt

How’s your life treating you? If it’s not all that you want, that may be a case of what you get is what you accept.  In truth, the lives of those we admire are that way because they actively go out and make them so.  Those people live their lives to the fullest: they know what they want, they make plans to achieve their goals, they adjust along the way as needed, and they fight to keep them that way. They are fearless in their approach to getting what they want, and that usually results in rich experiences and rewards.  So if your life or job isn’t exactly what you want, make a plan to change it.  The best lives and jobs are the ones we have: the challenge is to make them the ones we want!

Stay well!