How Do We Slow Life Down?
This is an age-old question, I’m sure, wondered by many of us. I got to an age, and I think, Dear God, how did the time go by so fast? Can I even remember it all? Can anyone?
It feels like I wake up in the morning and a week has past and I have no idea how it slipped by so fast. My husband and I have talked about how different life is now than it was when we were kids, teenagers, or even in our twenties, when it seemed like we had all the time in the world. Remember, just hanging out with friends. No plans. No time limit. Just hanging around.
Then we get older, and responsibilities seem to creep up on us like a sneaky cat going after a mouse. We don’t see the effects until bam! We get pounced on by some major life event, and then we break down, questioning how we got here.
We let our lives get away from us.
I’ve heard older folks say, “Don’t get old,” but that’s inevitable. Most of us, God willing, will get old and face life’s challenges (health issues, loss, financial pressures, etc.). Good advice is to enjoy every single moment of life, because you never know what’s coming. The more we take stock of our lives, the stronger and more resilient we’ll be to handle anything that comes our way.
Today, it seems a lot of us are always rushing. Rushing to get to work. Rushing to take the kids to practice. Rushing to get to the store. Rushing. Rushing. Rushing. And time goes by quickly.
For me, I jam-pack a lot in a day. I overplan myself, I know this. I’m working on lightening up my load, but I have a lot I want to accomplish. Even writing this blog post feels rushed because I have other things I’d like to get done today. It’s Sunday as I write this, and my husband has been wanting a quiet, low-key, relaxing Sunday for a long time. I keep promising it’ll happen, but something always seems to pop up. It’s pretty sad when we can’t take one day a week to rest and recharge.
So, I’m learning how to slow life down.
This is what I’ve come up with so far to help slow life down:
- Be intentional. Pay attention to what you’re doing and pay attention to the clock. Give yourself time to do what needs to be done, but also time to do something fun you enjoy. Our inner peace and happiness are just as important as the job that pays our bills.
- Be selective. We can’t do everything, so we need to pick and choose what is most important to us.
- Be creative. Take some time to figure out what seems to make the time go by so fast and create more time for what brings you joy.
- Be spontaneous. Life happens whether we plan it or not. Once and awhile, throw caution to the wind and let go. Take a day and go for a ride to a place you’ve never been. Make new memories.
- Be in the moment. Stop yourself and breathe. Fixate on the here and how. Don’t worry about the future, or let feelings from the past control your present moment. Just be still and stop always being on the move.
No one can stop time. We cannot manipulate it in any way because it just keeps moving. It’s up to us to manage it, though, which means recognizing that when we live intentionally, we have more time to do what’s most important.
Give Ourselves Grace
It’s okay if we haven’t figured any of this stuff out. I’m fairly new to this idea of focusing on the present moment. I still falter and let my mind race, but I rein it in quickly now, and stop the burden of time getting away from me. It takes discipline to do that. Trust me, it’s not easy.
We want to get to the end of our lives without any regrets. We all want to live a good life, even those folks who complain and think that life is bleak. We are here for a reason, and that reason is to live. To be kind. To be loving. To be helpful. To be encouraging. To be supportive. To share our experiences and wisdom to uplift others.
We are here to live well. When we live well, the clock is meaningless. We can control how we spend our time.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope you can slow things down. We all deserve a fulfilling life.
To slowing down,
Francesca
