You can slow down your days or speed them up—you are more in control than you've been conditioned to think.
All too often I hear people tell me their life is going by like a blur, but that doesn't have to be the case. I often hear it in sayings like "The time blows by so fast!" or "They grow up too fast!" It is meant to be a pearl of "given" wisdom from older generations, meant to help us cherish the moment. While I agree with the wisdom of cherishing the moments of each day, I don't find the maxim very helpful.
I have found that you can slow down or speed up your days by one daily habit: journaling.
I've been journaling since I was a pre-teen. I've got journals spanning my whole life. I had to develop the habit into a daily one and what I wrote as a pre-teen has obviously evolved.
But it wasn't until I was a parent that I realized how much it controlled how slow or fast the days went by. If I capture moments or important thoughts during the day by writing them down as the day develops (which really slows the day down) or if I write them at the end of the day (which relies on my unreliable memory, sadly), I can slow down the days and cherish each of the moments. Suddenly, days feel like days and weeks feel like weeks.
This, in my opinion, is what the author is meaning in Psalm 90:12:
"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom."
For some, understanding the short duration of our life motivates them to do more and wring more out of life. I've heard plenty of sermons on this, delving into the math behind our days and how long we might/might not live, divvying them up for sleep, eating, career, family, etc.
Instead of encouraged, I find myself exhausted at the thought of doing more or making more memories. I like to make memories with my family and document them on social media, just as much as the next person but I'd rather cherish the slow, real connection of daily moments, conversations, thoughts, and glimpses into the souls of the ones in my care.
I think sermons like the ones I've heard are missing the point: Don't spend your time counting your days or squeezing the most out of them! Instead, know that our lives are short and value them as the rare commodity that they are. Live them with an open hand, enjoying the good food, friends, and family that God has given you. Serve in the spheres you find yourself whenever you can. Experience God's intimacy without brushing past to share it with the world.
Living simply and mindfully, is, I'm confident, what the Psalmist meant by applying our hearts to wisdom.
If I want days to go by quickly, then all I have to do is not record the important moments of the day or turn on the TV or binge on books. Which, I can tell you I've been known to do when overwhelmed and don't like what I'm experiencing (e.g. want to get through it quickly). There may be a short season where this will not be harmful but beyond that, I'll miss too much.
I am reminded of a movie where the protagonist was given a remote control to rewind and fast-forward his life. He fast-forwarded a lot of it and missed far too much of his children's lives. A regret I think he fixed with the rewind button.
For many women I talk to, we've been conditioned to think we don't have a remote or the remote for all our lives has been programmed in the 2X or 4X speed. I can assure you, this is NOT God's intent. You can practice mindfulness—being present in the moment and grateful for the moment—to live life at the correct speed. Don't let your best life be lost to the whirlwind pace.
Grace teaches us the wisdom found in the daily.
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