Wow this year has flown by! Can you believe that it’s almost 2017!
Speaking of time flying – I’ve previously written about my own perception of life and how the timeline seems to be “speeding up” but to recap – over the past few years I’ve felt an increasing urgency to not only complete longstanding projects, but remove and replace toxic people, things, behaviors and attitudes which don’t serve my higher good – both personally… and professionally. In addition, I have placed significant emphasis on laying a strong foundation for my future legacy. In short, life seems to have kicked into overdrive!
Now some may say that this concept is simply a natural byproduct of the aging process – an enhanced cognition of mortality related to one’s limited time in the flesh.
Regardless, I’ve struggled with a nagging suspicion that there was a missing element which I had continued to overlook.
BINGO! It was so obvious! I can’t believe it had been staring me in the face the entire time. Sometimes one truly cannot see the forest through the trees.
Sure, science could potentially help to explain the time differential. If you weren’t already aware, the Schumann Resonance (which is a measurement of the resonance or frequency of the earth) is increasing. When it was first measured back in the 1950’s the earth’s frequency was 7.8 hertz. Recent measurements have now registered it at 12 hertz – which means that a 24-hour day now feels like only 16 hours!
Another possibility is one which science has dubbed the “holiday paradox.” From Scientific American:
“Our brain encodes new experiences, but not familiar ones, into memory, and our retrospective judgment of time is based on how many new memories we create over a certain period. In other words, the more new memories we build on a weekend getaway, the longer that trip will seem in hindsight.
The holiday paradox seems to present one of the best clues as to why, in retrospect, time seems to pass more quickly the older we get. From childhood to early adulthood, we have many fresh experiences and learn countless new skills. As adults, though, our lives become more routine, and we experience fewer unfamiliar moments. As a result, our early years tend to be relatively overrepresented in our autobiographical memory and, on reflection, seem to have lasted longer. Of course, this means we can also slow time down later in life.”
No wonder we perceive time as speeding up! But, even beyond potential scientific explanations there was an aspect to my own equation which I realize now had been missing.
Each time a “milestone” was reached not only did I check off that box… but, I pushed harder. Faster, longer, more!
I now realize that I have been missing something vitally important. In my rush to the finish line I’ve been missing all the beautiful scenery of life… AND to a certain extent have also figuratively lost my direction. It’s almost as if I’ve forgotten where I am going… and why.
Life is short. It passes by so incredibly quickly. Literally in the blink of an eye we grow up, graduate from school, get jobs and take on real responsibilities, get married and have children. Then we watch our children grow, all while rushing through life trying to hurry along and accomplish our goals.
But why? Why focus so intently on the future when the present is here NOW? It will be gone very quickly – and then what? It’s so easy to get caught up being busy and focusing on reaching the destination that you forget that your time to experience the world as a human being is not only finite… but, is counting down.
It’s time to slow down and enjoy the present moment.
“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
