This week, someone remarked to me that it was hot. Yes, it was hot. But it’s also September. It’s still summer. It’s supposed to be hot in the summer. The idea that summer ends on Labor Day has long been a point of soreness for me. Having a birthday the first week in September makes me a summer baby. By the time I’m blowing out my candles, people have pumpkins and mums on their front stoops.
Isn’t it our natural tendency to look ahead, though? Don’t we thrive on anticipating what’s next? Technically, December 1st is still autumn, but everyone has winter on their minds. In high school, spring sports started on March 1- but this was winter (and yes, we were outside, smacking around tennis balls and shivering). We’re always focused on what is ahead instead of what is going on right now.
I distinctly remember (mostly in college) on Sunday nights, saying to myself as the thought of full time school, a few part time jobs, papers, projects, and tests swirled around in my head, “just let me get through this week.” What happened the following Sunday? I gave myself the same pep talk and another week had flown by with me wishing myself through it. Of course I enjoyed the moments along the way. But how would my memories or experiences be different if my outlook was “just let me enjoy today?”
Sadly, sometimes that “what is going to come” never comes, and you realize that the time you were waiting to pass has become the stuff your memories are made of. I’m not saying I need to stop focusing on the future, but it would do me a little good to stop every once in a while and focus on today, not on tomorrow.
After all, life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!
Copyright 2014 Anne Mathay