Embracing the Present: Learning to Slow Down
Have you ever heard the cliche that the older you get the faster time moves? If I had a dollar every time I heard someone say that I could probably quit my job and never worry about finances again. Every single year someone new will mention that as I get into my later 20’s. Recently, I’ve spent some time reflecting on this idea. How accurate is this cliche? If it is accurate, why exactly is that so? What really makes time move faster?
I can recall my sophomore year of college when I ran into someone I had played soccer with during my freshman year. He was a year ahead of me, and as we were briefly catching up I shared how crazy it was that I am already a sophomore. It had felt like just a few weeks ago that I was playing soccer and had broken my leg (another story for another day). So there I was, communicating that ever-so-common cliche without even realizing it. As I shared that, they reflected on their college journey and reiterated how quickly time does seem to fly by as time goes on in college. Then I blinked, and I was already graduating college. I blinked again, and now I’m 6 years married.
Where did the time go?? I can’t help but believe how true it is that time moves faster as we get older. My college experience flew by. Six years of marriage flew by. But the thing that I struggle with most is when I consider that time is one of the few constant and consistent things in this world.
A single day is ALWAYS comprised of 24 hours. Every time the clock hits midnight a new day starts. Can we also take a moment to appreciate that the hours in a day are an even number? Imagine it being an odd number. That sends shivers down my spine.
Anyway, the point of this is not to prove a classic cliche wrong. Despite time being a constant thing that will never change, it still feels true. It still feels like the older I get the faster time moves. I am sure that people with children would even agree as they watch their children grow up. Time seems to move so quickly.
But maybe it’s not time that is moving quickly, maybe it’s us that are moving quickly. The older we get the more responsibility we have. The older we get the less we slow down to reflect on the moments we are currently living in. How many of us have calendars filled to the brim until the end of the year? How many of us are just currently waiting for the next thing to occur?
I wonder what would happen if we slowed down. I wonder what would happen if we said no to constant busyness in our lives. I wonder what would happen if even through the busyness we made an effort to reflect on where we are and what is going on around us.
I once heard author and speaker Carlos Whittaker say, “time is a gift and we are flying by life.” Life is not flying by you; you are flying by it.” Time itself is not moving any slower, but it also isn’t moving any faster. Maybe it’s time we slow down and develop a new pace that is healthy for us. Slow down where you need to. Even if that means creating boundaries that might be challenging. Even if that means saying no to things that you enjoy. You can’t get time back, but you can still save the time you have in front of you.
