time flies!!

July 31, 2008 at 2:45 AM

two weeks.

that is all that is left of my summer. after that thought: panic!!!!

i haven't practiced enough!
i'm not down to my goal weight (actually a couple pounds heavier!!)
i haven't seen everyone i meant to see!!
i didn't make as much money as i wanted!!

ahhh!!!!!!!

but wait... surely, as i look back, there wasn't 3 months crammed into the 5 minutes it takes me to reminisce my entire summer...

remember when you were a kid, and you would test yourself by not looking at the clock for what you THOUGHT was 5 minutes? you turn back to the clock to see that it's only been 1, or possibly 2 minutes? you think time goes on FOREVER when you're at the store with your mom. surely it will be DARK by the time we get done shopping, with no time left to go swimming or play outside with my friends. oh wait- it's only been 45 minutes, and the pool hasn't even begun to get midday warm and crowded. SWEET!!!!

and now, i look back on the 3 months that seemed like maybe 5 weeks, and realize i've aged, i've wasted SOOO much time on this site (and facebook) and let myself get caught up in work. i haven't REALLY enjoyed but maybe a cumulative week. that's what gets me the most. it's like i looked down, went on my way to work, and the next thing i know, i've let 3 months of experiences go to waste. if i had paid attention, i might have met people, seen things, and gone about my day differently if i had just been paying attention.

maybe this is what happens when you start getting older?... but that sounds like a lame excuse to miss out on everyday life experiences that can teach you lots of things. that' s probably why half the worlds is a ignorant and naive as it is. some people sit around their whole lives and then complain about being fat... maybe what they should be complaining about is missing out on the life experiences they passed by choosing to rather sit on their butts and watch tv or look on ebay.

or maybe this summer has taught me a life lesson, and i don't even know it.

From Sydney Menees
Posted on July 31, 2008 at 4:57 AM

Hey Terra!! I believe we were at SE together last year.

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over! I have to leave for school on Friday, so I am definitely feeling the crunch as well. So you didn't do what you wanted this summer. Neither did I. :) Reflect and learn. That's all you can do now.

I remember from a very young age - maybe 6 or 7 - thinking that I had squandered all my time and how much more time efficient I could have been as a four year old. It's true! This self-criticism on m time wasting had continued constantly until my 18th birthday, which was about 2 weeks ago. What I realized then was that I'm not really old and that I haven't thrown my life away. I still really could do anything! (That is, if the 10,000 hours of practice theory is true.) At any rate, the biggest time waste and stressor is criticizing oneself for mismanaged time. I feel better living in the moment! :)

From Bart Meijer
Posted on July 31, 2008 at 7:04 AM

Terra, I can relate.
There is a song, in Dutch, going:
Oh dear, I'm nearly eleven!
It won't be long before I turn eighty,
and there's so much I still want to do!

Thank you for your wakeup call!

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on July 31, 2008 at 11:07 AM

I was thinking that same thing about time recently--that when you're a kid, it goes so slowly. I was about 8 or 9 years old and I decided I was going to set a timer for practicing my violin, for 30 minutes. I wouldn't look at it or the clock for 30 minutes, I'd just practice and stop when it rang. I practiced for what I thought was an eternity. I got out old pieces I'd forgotten about and played those. I thought for sure the timer had to ring. Why didn't it? Was it broken? Did I forget to start it? What was going on? So I broke down and looked at it: 20 minutes.

Now, I feel like 20 minutes can pass before I'm done with the scales. The first time I look at my watch while practicing is often the last time, because it's late and time to quit. And I'm lucky if I can find a whole hour in a day to practice, period.

From Patty Rutins
Posted on July 31, 2008 at 12:50 PM

I hate to say it, but time only flies faster the older you get. I only hope it slows down again once I hit retirement, 'cause by then I'll be traveling at mach 5.

But the biggest waste of time is when you're waiting for life to happen to you. You sit around wondering when you're going to get your "big break", or when you're going to get out of a sucky job, or when you're going to move to Alaska to teach music to the polar bears... ;) The trick is that it's only when you get up and stop waiting that life starts happening!

Good luck slowing time... :)

From Carol Cook
Posted on August 1, 2008 at 5:01 PM

Perspective can change with time. As I look back, all the striving associated with my profession was just the necessary expenditure of time and energy to succeed and serve my patients well. Hard work for such a goal is energising and cathartic, but, as satisfying as that can be, the real benefit to me, to my spirit, came in the quiet times with my family, friends, pets, the horse I had as a kid, the boat later on, in meditation, and don't forget the fiddle(!). On reflection, the pure joy that those moments engendered, scattered thru my life, kept me sane. Balance is the key.

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time flies!!

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