I read an article recently ( i wish i could find it), about why our childhoods seem to last forever filled with endless summers, and how times flies as we age. It’s because when we’re young everything is new, new experiences, those days are filled with learning. As we age routine kicks in, and many of those experiences become second nature, they don’t register as part of the day (my take on this from reading the article).
I love this quote by Paul Coelho “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it’s lethal”
I realised a couple of years ago that sometimes the weeks/months seem to roll into one, so I decided to make some changes. The biggest one was stopping watching the tele. I remember thinking, has a week passed already when the particular show (absolute rubbish usually) I watched came on again. Similarly with the yearly programmes, X Factor, Strictly. My year isn’t defined by when those programmes air anymore (I guess they have taken the place of religious festivals for some people! ).
So now I aim to try and make time stand still. January and February were always months that vanished, holed up from the cold, wishing they’d hurry up and end. Now I embrace them, running (new to me three years ago), walking and getting out in all weathers. We decided as a family to make a list of places we hadn’t visited locally, and every weekend we make sure that one day we visit a new place. By new place I don’t mean, new cinema, restaurant, but somewhere outdoors. We have discovered woods, nature reserves, old houses, hills, and amazing rocks and landscapes. My years have begun to slow down, by filling them with new experiences, I haven’t said “is it Christmas already, where did that year go?”, for a few years now. Will it get harder though, as we exhaust local places, experiences, or will we just get better at making those experiences feel new?
P.S.
You’ll also be pleased to know that I wasn’t the only person in the school playground to notice the song thrush singing, he was there in the evening singing away too, another parent commented to me. Made me smile.