Time to Celebrate a New Beginning!
Time and the passing of time has always been something I struggle with. I try to enjoy and embrace every moment and experience and time I spend with people to the fullest, but then as the middle or ending nears, I count down the days and stress about only having a few days or weeks left. I remember the Thursday felt like it was just yesterday and then Friday happened and now suddenly is late Saturday night, almost Sunday - Duh, that's how time works. But I can't help thinking about how fast it suddenly seems to go.
I would argue that I am pretty good at being present and enjoying each moment, but with a big global event like New Year's Eve, reflection is in the air and I look back on a full amazing year.
New Year's Eve and the start of a new year is a reminder to me about how fast time flies by. And then it starts to stress me out. I think, last New Years Eve feels like it was just yesterday, and I cannot wrap my head around how fast. There were millions of little moments and feelings and thoughts that happened in between... and time actually went slowly. It was just filled with so many amazing things, positive experiences, and loving people, that I was so indulged in it all... And suddenly its New Years again, and I don't know where the time went.
Some thoughts for the New Year
Now that I have shared my little rant about how difficult I find dealing with time and therefore change, here are some things I have tried practicing to better deal with time. We are all in the same boat and time is passing for all of us. I am definitely a sentimental person, so miles stones like the end of a year make me very reflective.Remember, it's all Relative
As I mentioned before, I usually think I am pretty good at staying present. New Year's is a special time though because you along with everyone else in the world have just lived yet another year (how lucky are we!). In the big picture, it feels so sudden that another year has already gone by. With this initial anxiety of time, I take a moment and go through all the things that happened this year, month by month. There will be a lot because there are 12 months, and approx. 30 days per month, and 24 hours in a day, and thousands of minutes and seconds. Another year has passed! It is exciting! And you have done and accomplished so much. Be grateful for that and let it go so you can look forward.
Remember you can Alter your Perspective
I am trying to change my perspective now. Time is simply a form of change. So my anxiety with time really goes deeper into my anxiety of change... specifically that the past is ending; really though, when I look at it in terms of the future, I am excited about the new next chapter that then happens. I just have a hard time letting go then.
Time changing is not a bad thing, and the passing of time is just bringing me closer to my next goal. If time never changed, life would be boring, there would be no journey's to take and no memories to make. Be grateful for the change. Looking back, I think of all the wonderful things that I did and that happened this year. I guess I just wish I could embrace each second even more, live each experience again, and feel all my feelings twice as intensely - and those wishes are really nothing to be complaining about. I am incredibly lucky to feel that way.
Remember that Time is just a Social Construction
Time and our conception of time is established from thinking not feeling. Memories and time are illusions constructed in our imagination. Its hard to "let go" because I feel like all I want is more; I want to hold the moments and the memories in a controlling way. I think most of us feel that way though. We want to believe that we have something tangible, but we don't. Memories are intangible but the construction of time has given us the false illusion that we can somehow go back to moments possess them.
In these instances, I would argue that we can look back on memories - cherish them. But do not hold onto them so much that it ruins your life now. By this I mean, do not use happy memories as a benchmark. Be in this moment without comparison, competition, or judgment. If you are having a down day, feel it. If you are doing something amazing, embrace it, knowing that this too it is only temporary.
"This too shall pass." This saying rings true for the good as well as the bad. Be grateful for your past, but live in the now, before that too becomes a memory.
Remember the Marble Jar
Brene Brown has this great analogy for trust called the marble jar. She argues that trust in a relationship is not built with big acts or grand gestures, but with small, almost insignificant acts. In this analogy, she says that each time someone does small acts that are meaningful to you, you add a marble to their jar. This jar signifies the trust you have in your relationship with this person. You can think of time with this same analogy. Memories fill up the marble jar. Sometimes only one marble goes in for a smaller memory or a few marbles for the amazing trip you took. Sometimes there is a dark memory marble, and sometimes that marble ends up having a silver lining. Regardless, each moment fills us the memory jar.
Think about all the marbles in your jar and be grateful. But tonight, on December 31st 2017, you will push that jar to the side and start a new marble jar with a new focus. You need to make space for new marbles, and you can't do that if you are still holding onto your old ones. The memories do not go away - they are always with you and always there for you... But you have a huge new jar to focus on filling up now!
Remember to Breathe
As I think about all these other memories and moments and the time that has flown by so quickly, I realize I am missing the moment that is happening right NOW. Meditation is a practice that helps calm your mind and bring you back to the now. Enjoy right now because that is all you have.
"How long is forever?" ... "Sometimes just one second."
Time is just a construction ... it has no further meaning other than being a way to organize our days and create overly busy lives. What matters is right now. What you choose to do NOW. How you are feeling or choose to feel NOW. Remember the memories and be grateful, but do not feel the need to control and hold onto them. Holding on means living in the past and in sadness that the past is no longer the present... and then you miss out on right NOW.Celebrate a new beginning!
Thank you for reading this year and I wish you all a wonderful start to 2018!
