Wishing Our Days Away
It’s Monday and I will let you in on a little secret: I’m not really a Monday person. Weekly, I anticipate Friday to spend time with family, friends and fun activities. I do countdowns in my head or on social media. What I have found, though, is that I spend a lot of time wishing my life away. I pine for every Friday and neglect Monday through Thursday, and before I know it, months have passed by! It’s astounding and a tad scary that the days seem to vanish.
It’s common, in life, to wait, excitedly, for things to come. We do this with special occassions such as birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries. We also do this with spring break, summer vacation and Thanksgiving. It’s normal to look forward to family trips, weddings or births. We even look forward to the ends of things, like a work project with a distant deadline, allergy season, cold and flu season, or times when we are feeling sick, overwhelmed or especially busy.
As I’ve aged and attempted to grasp time a little more firmly, I’ve learned to slow the perception of time, for me, through presence. Being available in the moment. Noticing all that goes on at the time I’m thinking about them. I make an effort to focus on what I’m doing and avoid multitasking. I get enthralled and zone into what I’m concentrating on and zone out all the distractions around me. For those who have ever watched a soccer game with me, you know what I'm talking about. I’m sucked in by what’s going on and have difficulty with small talk or chit chat. Perhaps this comes across as rude or cold but I enjoy my experience more this way. I take it all in! I become invested in the moment. Not only does that bring me joy, it impresses the moments on my mind and time seems to slow down.
When feeling overwhelmed, chaotic or stressed out, we often want time to whiz by so we can move on to the next thing, which is hopefully, much more enjoyable. I find presence to be even more helpful during these periods of time. Finding a moment of goodness and noticing the sights, smells, sensations and sounds in our environment help to ground us and draw us back into the present moment. Even when things aren’t going our way and life is tough at that time, grounding and being present has a calming effect and allows us to experience life more richly.
Life is not meant to be lived by having our head down, putting one foot in front of the other until we get to the destination. We are meant to take in all that happens along the journey by being present on the path. Don’t just bide your time until Friday or until school finishes or until the kids graduate or until you retire. Don't wish days away. If you do, you’ll miss all the little moments that add depth to your life.
Everyone has their own way of being present in life. Enjoying the journey and becoming invested in the process are skills we can learn and practice to gain greater fulfillment from life. If you are interested in learning grounding techniques or skills to be present in your life, please book an appointment with me. I’d love to help you find reward in more than the destination.
