Slow Dance
Slow Dance
“I never seem to have time” seems to be a common remark these days and everyone seems to be rushing around and stressed out.
Apparently, it’s part of the nature of life for time to accelerate as we age. This acceleration is almost imperceptible each year, but the result is that each decade that you live through goes by faster than the one before. Your 20s go faster than your teens, your 30s go faster than your 20s, and so on. Scientists have also noticed that the Earth is speeding up; It is moving so much faster now that they want to modify the length of a day. They claim that on June 29, 2022, the Earth spun faster than normal, making it the shortest day recorded since the 1960s.
We feel pressed for time due to our own psychology, not just the tyranny of the clock. This is called time anxiety. Similar to productivity shame–the feeling that you’ve never done enough–time anxiety is when you feel you never have enough time to meet your goals or that you’re not maximizing the time you do have.
We all have the ability to make changes to give us more time – but often we feel guilty if we lag behind any tasks we are expected to do.
So, can we create more time in our lives?
A suggestion like turning off your cell phone for a day to avoid being distracted from the present moment during fun activities may feel impossible to some – and the very thought creates anxiety in others. But a few years ago, we didn’t have cell phones and we managed quite nicely thank you.
A while back, I came across the following poem which I think will resonate with all of us – it is very poignant and so very true.
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed?
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see their sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die?
cause you never had time
To call and say, “hi”
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift...thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
Whilst I am not sure of the source of this poem, I was told it was written by a teenager who was dying of cancer – and to me, it captures the trap we can all quite easily fall into. So, over these next few weeks, let’s take time to spend with those people who are important to us – life is too short – the music won’t last.
Try it and see!
Love & Light
Roger
“For those who understand – no explanation is necessary – for those who do not understand, no amount of explaining will be sufficient”