I thought we had another week, but this is it.

This is the last week of September. BOOM… Gone. Where did it go?

I remember saying just a few weeks ago, “I can’t believe it’s September.” Now, it’s almost gone. For good.

Are you really writing an “I can’t believe how fast time flies” post?

No, not really. It’s just sounding that way at the moment.

But you know what? It doesn’t really matter, does it? No really, think about it for a moment. How much does what day? In what month? In what year? actually matter as long as you’re moving forward?

September is all but over and here comes October. Just like it always does.

Why did those who came before us even develop calendars? The reasons were far more practical than stressing us out over our achievement or our lack of progress.

This kind of thinking is simply part of that go, go, go… more, more, more… now, now, now mindset we’re all so enamored with.

How much can we pack into every single day, of every single month, of every single year and still marvel at how fast it all slips away? Are you feeling the stress? I am.

Could it be a Red Pill/Blue Pill thing?

Ponder that question while I shift gears for a moment…

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a good friend reminding me, “… it’s time to start thinking about the rest of the year — only 115 days remain before 2019 arrives.”

I was feeling good about my year. But with that reminder, not as much.

Now acutely aware that I only have a few short months left to accomplish everything I had hoped to in 2018, I have a new sense of urgency.

I’ve always considered the fall my favorite time of year. Rooted in the new school year from days gone by, it’s a fresh start. Another grade, a new adventure, learning more, growing up and getting better.

Most of us think about spring as a time of rebirth and fresh starts, especially if old man winter hangs on too long. And it clearly is. But in this way, it works for fall too.

Then again, it even works for summer. Think back to those “endless summer” days. When school let out… that was quintessential rebirth and new-found freedom. Remember that feeling?

It doesn’t matter so much if your personal reset button is attached to the seasons, your birthday, a holiday, or whatever. The important thing is life gives us many opportunities to hit that reset button for ourselves.

It’s important to have one. Think of it as pulling into the pit stop to check and adjust all the moving parts before you let a wheel fly loose on the track.

This way, nobody gets hurt.

Back to the Red Pill/Blue Pill thing…

The red pill and its opposite, the blue pill, are a popular cultural meme, a metaphor representing the choice between:

• Knowledge, freedom, uncertainty and the brutal truths of reality (red pill)
• Security, happiness, beauty, and the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill)

Source: Wikipedia

But do you have to make a choice between the “brutal truths of reality” and the “blissful ignorance of illusion”?

I’m not aware of any “brutal truth” that forces us to say yes to every opportunity, cramming more life into the limited space and time that doesn’t expand under pressure by design. We all get the same number of ticks in a day.

It reminds me of a once favorite quote I adopted back when I had  hopped on the dot.com express…

Faster, Faster! Until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.” – Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author

That was a mantra for the times… Living life faster and faster won’t overcome the fear of death, and certainly not death itself. Sometimes it felt like it would, at least in that very moment.

Then where does “blissful ignorance” come into play?

I’m sure it does, but not for me. How can ignorance be a fruitful strategy? I suppose one could believe that’s just the way it is and go on about living life as it comes. It could work for some. It likely does.

We have choices, even if they’re not immediately obvious. We can choose not to pack life so full. To figure out for ourselves what really matters and what doesn’t… and to say “no” to the rest.

I’m not bashing goals and achievement. Honestly, I’m working harder than I ever have and I regret not having started sooner.

What would happen if we slowed down a bit… stopped measuring our performance and expectations by how much we cram into the days, months, and years of a calendar.

What if it’s more intentional? Based on purposeful thought and consideration? Saying no to the noise and all the non-essentials other people keep telling us we need? Creating an actual vision of what’s possible in the time available instead of haphazardly going about thinking of all the this and that’s that we could squeeze into our precious time and space?

And at the same time, leaving a little room in the margins…

Remember this –

The days are long, but the years are short.” – Gretchen Rubin, author

Let them matter and make them count.

Oh, and…

Be Untucked.

 

Is time moving way too fast? Do you have a reset button? Leave a comment below…

 

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