Saturday, September 27, 2008

It's September 2008, do you know where your life has gone?

Congratulations to Amy for knowing the quote, and an honorable mention goes out to Mr. Shore for at least picking Einstein. The full quote is:

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution." -Albert Einstein

I feel like time is racing by right now. I have been in Japan for just over two months at this point. It feels more akin to about two weeks. This has been a great phenomenon in my life (as I am sure many of you have also experienced), but time seems to slip by faster and faster the older I get. It's as though a day is no longer 24 hours and more and more valuable time is fading into the past. I really don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss my life. Realistically, of course I am not, but I am not a fan of this perceived expedited flow of time.

So I will strive to make more of an effort - for my whole life. This is actually a bit of a kick I went on when I was at Shenandoah my freshman year of college. I got this thought in my head that every single day is significant for a reason, no matter how small. Often we are very unaware of the significance of each day due to our general lack of observation. We usually only consider huge events to be worthy of remembering; birth, first word, first step, first day of school, first day of college, graduations, weddings, deaths. What about the last time I wore my favorite black and pink Beauty and the Beast sweater when I was a kid? Where did that go? Why did I decide to stop wearing it? What was the last thing I said to my childhood friend when she moved away? Did I realize at the time, that was the last time I would be speaking to her? What was the last school lunch I had? What about the day my siblings turned from mere cohabitants in my world into some incredibly wonderful friends? There are revelations for all of these things, and those revelations hit and happen on a very specific day and that day is special. How often do you think everyday is special, for just a small reason?

So back to Shenandoah. I was having one of these crisis moments when I just needed something significant to happen in my life - and I needed to take control and make it happen. So on Wednesday, November 17, 2004, I had PEZ candy for the last time. At the time, the girls on my floor thought I was crazy and spent the evening laughing at me and my conviction to never have another PEZ again. It was fun and exhilarating for me to turn an ordinary Wednesday into a significant day in my life, and bring everyone in my hall on board! I wanted to make real my thoughts that everyday is compelling if only we are willing to pay attention. We have to make a conscious decision to be attentive to our own lives. Do you know when the last day you wore your favorite childhood article of clothing, the day you decided that you were a big kid and that funny jeweled belt was such a little kid belt?

Growing up requires a lot of thought and decision making. We owe it to ourselves to be conscious of the decisions we make and WHY we make them. It is not enough just to decide without reason or cognition. That is when the moments slip away without you noticing. You turn around when you're married with grown children and think, "Wow, when did I stop driving down the road with the windows down singing as loudly as I could with the radio?"

PS When is the last time you had a PEZ candy?

4 comments:

Mikey said...

While it is important to try to remember the little things that make each day significant, giving up Pez is not a cool thing. Watch out, because that is NOT the last Pez you will ever have. Life without Pez is life without tipping your head back and letting go of some of your awesome tastiness for other people to enjoy, and you wouldn't want that now, would you?

Unknown said...

You have hit another one out of the park. It reminds me of the day when you were three weeks old and had outgrown the first of many pieces of clothing. I sat and cried because my baby was growing up. I am amazed and proud to watch the woman you are becoming and getting to read about your inner thoughts is an incrdible high for me. Thank you so much.
Mom

Leah J. said...

Beautiful post, love! I'm the type to look forward to the next milestone instead of savoring the day I'm in. Something I definitely need to work on.

I have definitely felt the sensation that time is going by much more quickly than it ever has. I can't believe that it's almost October. October!! I just graduated last week, didn't I? So much has changed since then that it seems like a lifetime ago.

I had Pez a couple of months ago... out of a pink Princess Aurora dispenser. That's the beauty of babysitting. I got to play 3 times a week, and I miss it more than anything. Maybe I'll go back to it, but there's no health insurance, and silly MA requires it. We'll see.

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh! Am I not supposed to be singing at the top of my voice with the car window down?