I have walked this planet for 50 years now, give or take a week or so. And for roughly 25 years of those, I've been a just a little bit late.The problem is not just the chronic rudeness of keeping other people waiting for me, as bad as that is, or having to crawl in front of six sets of knees five minutes into the main feature. The real cost is that I fret the whole way to whatever it is I'm late for (living in the future) and then feel badly about it once I actually arrive (living in the past). In all that flurry, where is the present?
It makes me a tad melancholy to reflect on how much of the beauty, education, rest and/or joy I've missed in the journey "in between" the events that mark my life.
At the half-way place--now there's some optimism for you!--I'm very clear that the journey IS the event. If I'm not present in the spaces in between, I'm missing a huge chunk of my own life. And life right now, in full health, well employed with an interesting job and great people, with more friends than I know what to do with… Life is good!
Here's how I've explained the math to myself: from now on, if I can be five minutes early for the "events," then I figure I'll not only really be here for all the years left, but I may even win back a few I've dropped along the way. Or at least, it will feel that way.
What have you talked to yourself about lately? I'd love to know.
Just a smidge past the midpoint myself........On punctuality: I'm better at it than I was 30 years ago, but still try the occasional time warping. Part of the solution for me is not to go so many places. Also the holiday starts when you walk out the door from work. If you are flying, the trip to the airport, security, plane trip (I do love a window seat on a clear day) are all part of it.
ReplyDelete....On other matters, with grandparenthood on the horizon, there is much to look forward to. And yet there is a greater awareness that this isn't home. Here is pretty wonderful but there is better still to come.
Louise
Salvodor Dali was smarter than us when he conceived the concept of the soft watches. I'd rather think about the world from his perspective. Time is soft. It streaches; it melts; it's not constant. I'd rather join the "time party" at my own soft terms, rather than comply with artificial rigit terms...:)
ReplyDelete"In between the events..." that should be the title of your next article! What a crazy, fasinating, thoroughly enjoying read that would be! I'm staying tuned! and Happy 50th!
ReplyDelete