The year ending is almost here!
So the end of the year is fastly approaching. We are also in the time of year where people are more apt to be more relaxed and friendly, just as long as you don't get in their way shopping on Black Friday. =)
It's usually about this time that we reflect upon the last calendar year and say "Boy it passed quickly! Where did the year go?" Honestly though, it didn't really pass quickly, it passed in the same amount of time as last year (leap year not present). We just don't notice the slow passage of time in our hectic lives. We wish there was more time in the day so that we could do more, sleep more, have fun more...there just seems to never be enough time.
Realistically though, you've had the same amount of time in a day as some of the greats like Beethoven, Michelangelo and Da Vinci, but see they spent years perfecting their crafts. In the age we live in now with almost instant gratification to basically everything we are over-saturized and frankly, impatient. We don't take the time anymore to really enjoy things, it always seems to be "Ok, on to the next thing. I have a schedule to maintain."
What happened to stopping to smell the roses along the path? It seems the roses have been replaced with the synthetic scent of a rose and pictures of roses instead of the actual thing. The small things do really make life worth living. Doing things for your fellow man, not because you're getting a reward out of it, but because you genuinely want to should be the reason to do them. When was the last time you paid for someone else's order in a drive thru or offered to babysit for parents you know need a break? Assuming you actually like children! =)
What I'm really saying is that we seem to be existing in a place that everything is urgent and important. If everything is urgent and important, nothing really is though. After awhile you get burnt out living there so long that you start to self-medicate. For you that might be drinking every day after work, not to belligerence, but to unwind. It may be zoning out for several hours playing a video game, eating your stress or feelings to bury them or forget, or taking prescription medications.
We also seem to want as little human interaction as possible with the advent of technology like: Facebook, blogs, Twitter, e-mail, text/picture messaging and instant messaging. When we ask people how they are, don't we normally hope for one work answer like "good" and in return give that when we are asked how we are? Anything more requires more interaction that we would rather take place in electronic form. We have automated systems for basically EVERY major company that we would ever have to call, including the one I work for. All in the hopes that the machine can help the customer before they reach a person. Now some would argue that it's more cost efficient to have the machine fix the problem, but the machine can't give someone true empathy. That can only be displayed by a person and I argue that human has more chance to retain a customer than the machine.
So as we look forward to next year, slow down and enjoy the time you have on Earth. It isn't infinite and could run out at any time.
I wish this to you for 2011 and the rest of your life too.