Everything Moves So Fast…
Why does life feel like it’s always moving at the speed of light? You hear it all the time, people say things like “Live in the moment” and “Appreciate the time you have” even the standard proclamation that “Time goes by so fast.” We all say it but we don’t really do anything about it. As I am writing this we are mid-pandemic. Most of the country has been under some type of restriction for over a year, and with the recent progress of vaccines everything is slowly starting to open up again. Now we are faced with a whole new issue, do we really want to go back to the way we were?
I don’t know about you but I can feel it already. Work has picked up and my days are beyond full again. Those moments of sitting and pondering what to do while everything is moving in slow motion are long gone. My family is being pulled in a million directions and work life isn’t much better. It seems we have forgotten the value of stopping to smell the roses and it’s only been a few months.
Is it possible to stop?
So many days I wonder if there is even a chance it will stop. The demands at my day job require me to put in more then required just to keep up with the chances and do what is expected of me. These inflated expectations are impossible to live up to and at the same time I instill them on myself. I planned to release a book a month for six months and my some miracle it’s actually happening. Although this has been one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done for myself, I know for a fact there is no way I can keep up this timeframe long term.
Life is hard work and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Even if I led a life that wasn’t full of chaos I would need to make the difficult decisions of what to do and what to say no to. For me saying no is the most impossible part of it all. Prioritization of time needs to be a new thing for many of us. If I learned anything from being forced to slow down, I learned that my time is more valuable then I ever realized.
Is anyone else struggling with the pressures to return to “normal” ? Is “normal” even what we need anymore? I know one thing, I was a lot happier when life was overall slower then it is today. The pressures of everyone around me are already weighing my consciousness. I was living a ignorant life before everything happened and I certainly don’t want to return to that. From this point forward I pledge to hold on to things that are important to me. Things like afternoons playing outside, Saturday mornings spent reading, and baking bread or sweet treats just because I want to. I’m no longer going to keep my “Good dishes” for just company, I’m going to use my fancy perfume just because I like the way it smells and I’m going to remind myself everyday I’m worth it.
It’s not time for New Years resolutions … and I’m terrible with them anyway. But it is Spring, and if feels like a good time for a new beginning. So, how about you? Anything you want to stop? start? continue?
Happy Reading.
-Nikki Rome