Are you making time for the things that really matter to you?
Here we are just out of perhaps the busiest calendar month with the ‘back to work’, ‘back to school’, or whatever your ‘back to’ is. Did your month just fly by for you? Did you get to some the things that, long term, really matter in your life? Or did your days get consumed with more reactive tasks and activities. Being busy is never a challenge, is it?
I am sitting at my campsite feeling an immense sense of gratitude. For the past 5 years I have promised myself I would take September and live on the road, writing and exploring. But every year things would appear that I would put in front of this promise to myself, and the earth would circle the sun again. Have you some powerful trip or activity that you know you want to experience, but the timing never works out?
Time rarely presents itself in a tidy package to fit your dreams. Like the turkey many of us will be eating next weekend, you have to carve it out.
Earlier this year I put my carving knife to good use and blocked and protected three weeks of September for my Ontario camping trip. This year I was going to make it happen.
My first stop was North Bay for two Mind Switch presentations where I met individuals who are prioritizing their health and sense of purpose in their next stage of life. Jenn, who at the age of 73 rides her bike 35 km four days a week along the beautiful county roads of North Bay; Doug who invented the rear pedal on the back of your vacuum and Bob, who at the age of 87 still swims 4 days a week, and is taking courses at U of T – and he is blind. There were hundreds of individuals determined to redefine what a fully vital retirement should be for each of them. Extensions of gratitude to so many and extra applause to all those who are just starting to explore what their possible is.
From North Bay, I slid south and was joined by my daughter, Holly, and her husband Sheldon, as we toured through Algonquin Park, hoping to see an elusive moose or wolf (a wolf had been sighted in the Two Rivers Campground). And to wrap it up, I just finished the trip with a camping adventure with my friend of 52 years, Michael, as I work on my next book.
Suffice it to say my heart is full, and my mind and body well used. My wish for each of you is to allow yourself to embrace that which excites and fulfills you. It was not easy to carve out time to make this happen but I wouldn’t trade a day of this trip for almost anything. Don’t wait for the perfect time – it rarely shows itself. Embrace your nagging someday passions and for a while, stow some of the routines that can keep all of our days busy.
What calendar time are you going to block off over the next year and what will you do with it? Drop me a line, as I would love to hear from you.
