Sounds Of The Season

Have you noticed that as the year winds down that we all seem to speed up?

I’m not sure if it is the feeling of ending that comes due to another 365 days going by. Or maybe it is the crush of the holiday season and the feeling that there is so much to get done and not enough time to do it in.

Or as Willy Wonka said, “So much time, so little to do. Strike that. Reverse it.”

Why are we driven to jam the gas pedal down when we get in the car and curse those we fly by who dare drive the speed limit? Why do we cram our schedule with so many events that we barely have time to enjoy the one we just left?

As this year comes to a close, I find I am taking “forced” days off from work. These are days that are legitimately granted to me by my company, but that I neglected to take during the rest of the year. Use them or lose them – and next year, I’ll have even more vacation days.

These “forced” days off are giving me the time to really stop. I won’t say relax, but I have been taking the time to really feel what’s going on around me.

It is a daunting task indeed to force one self to really relax. It is somehow counterproductive to work at relaxing.

But stopping is different. It can be just a pause in the day to take assessment on where you are and what is going on at the moment.

Or it can be longer – to listen to the world around you and your own body. Really. It is talking to you but the hustle and bustle of life is drowning out the messages you are trying to send yourself.

Is this just all some Zen nonsense? Maybe. Except I never studied Zen. I have read The Tao of Pooh, which some say is Zen-like.

All I’m asking is that you stop and observe, listen, reflect, whatever. Enjoy the now. Then move on to the rest of your day.

Maybe you won’t hear anything right away. But if you stop often enough, perhaps you will hear something you’ve never heard before.

Oh, and thanks for stopping to read this. Many of you have touched my life in many different ways – some, obviously, more than others. But I value each and every one of you – whether we’ve never met and only “commented” on each others’ blog or whether you’ve been with me for many years.

Now, stop and listen. What do you hear?

"Maybe I caught you at a bad time/Maybe I should call you back next week/Maybe half the fault was mine that/The sun didnt shine on barrington street." -- Barenaked Ladies