End of year comes and inevitably we hear comments like:
- Wow, this year flew.
- Every year is going faster.
- OMG, I didn’t even finish my to do list for this year and already need to revise to the next one.
But do you really think it went faster?
I got some news for you: this year was not faster, it got its 365 days (oops, 2020 it will be 366) and also our days were not shorter, it had the exactly known 24 hours.
- But why do we live with the impression that our time is always short?
- Why do we live running against the time and why we want to get “there” soon?
We are always in a hurry and, as it was not enough our sense of urgency, everything around us contributes to that.
Instead of getting more time, the feeling is the opposite.
We have so many services at our disposal to make things faster:
- Fast food, delivery, fast fashion, online shopping and banking
- Everything for us not to lose time: in the malls, traffic, etc.
- Now may I ask you:
What did you do with the time you gained from skipping the queue in the bank, when you paid your bills online?
Where did the time you got has gone?
Some time ago, I read in the book “Sapiens – brief history of mankind” (I highly recommend) a piece that called my attention and it was exactly about what do we do with the extra time.
Man made the washing machine because people spent too much time washing their clothes in the river. So… what did they do with the time they got with this modern invention?
They used to work more to buy the machine.
And this is exactly how I see us nowadays, we are always “running against time” and for what?
The precious time does not come back
We work a lot to provide our children, all the best, ensuring nothing is missing but then what they care most we can not give, our time spent with them.
We work a lot to have more comfort at home, a nice couch, the latest TV but then we do not have the time to sit down and enjoy a movie because we are too busy earning money to pay for the things we get.
And we do not have time for many things, such as:
-Read the label to check if the food is healthier
- To re-think about buying a piece of clothing only because it is cheaper (and I do not have the time to look for , choose … but I must have something new to wear on Christmas)
- I throw the garbage in any garbage can because I did not have the time to check for another one for recyclables.
- I use a plastic bag because I did not have the time to come back to my car and get the reusable one.
- I send a short text message, quickly, because I did not have the time to call … and the list goes on.
What about we slow down?
What about taking some time to stop?
Stop to breath, to look at each other, to analyse our choices.
Let’s slow down and look the view, pay attention to whom is around us, take some time to take care of ourselves, our family, our friends, our homes….
I hope that next year you can tell where your 365 went by – that they may be fill with good, light and true things, because with or without rush we will be there (wherever it is)
The difference in the speed is also an excellent opportunity to enjoy the beauty and the variety on the landscape.
Feliz, falante, abençoada por Deus e apaixonada pela natureza. Propósito na vida: deixar o mundo melhor incentivando as pessoas a serem mais conscientes em relação ao meio ambiente através de pequenas mudanças de hábitos e da leitura de livros inspiradores.