Time…sometimes it seems so much faster than at other times….
When we are bored, lonely or impatient time can seem so slow, but when we are having fun it can seem to pass so quickly. This is my excuse I suppose for my neglect of my blog….time has passed so fast as I’ve been having fun! Apologies though and in the future please nag me by email if I am getting distracted!!
Recent research has implied that knowledge of how much time we have can effect how much we enjoy it!! Setting a time limit on fun can actually make it more enjoyable (so in a way you’ll be doing me a favour if you kick my butt back onto my desk chair!). The opposite applies to the more boring situations, tedious social situations. Here not knowing how long they will last makes them more bearable! ‘rather than weakening affective episodes over time, duration knowledge actually intensifies them, rendering a positive experience more pleasurable and a negative experience more aversive’ (see more details)
Age is another area that’s caught me unawares..I seem to have got to my late 30s without stopping to grow up! If anything the older and more comfortable in myself I become; the less mature in my behaviour I feel I can be. However in other ways I am aware of how advancing years have benefited me! More independence, a better perspective of what really matters to me- and it isn’t having the latest gadget or being dressed in the latest fashion; but is more about quality time with quality people, including myself.
I make better choices (still often only with hindsight!!). I know what I am happy to compromise on, and it won’t include my morals, my time or my personal space! I’ve learnt, often the hard way, about my tendency to see the best in others and sometimes be taken advantage of, to give too many of my resources, both personal and material to others and then have to do without myself! I will still help people as much as possible, but only without compromising my sanity and this usually means not compromising my personal space, my time for me, my yoga practice and peaceful time reading or in meditation. I am still trying to learn that people appreciate my authenticity if I sometimes say ‘no’for good reason. I have learnt to really appreciate kindness & patience in others, those that supported me when I needed them, and were there for me as a sounding board for ideas and a queller of impossible schemes. I have learnt that family and friends deserve more of my time than I give them!
I suppose in learning what matters to me in others has often coincided with what I have learnt to appreciate in myself, and what I won’t accept in others I often realise is what I don’t much like in myself…& therefore try to change. If I don’t wish to be around other people who have those traits why would I want to live with myself with those traits.
I’m learning to peel away those layers of myself that are insignificant, those I don’t like, to find more glimpses of the more permanent ever loving, ever joyful part of me. Removing that which isn’t authentic to try to find the more authentic part of me.
That’s basically what age & yoga practice has taught me, to enjoy being with myself. To be more comfortable in my own head; to like myself more! I now enjoy waking up every day to being myself rather than trying to fit into other people’s expectations of what I should be or do with my life. So please forgive me for letting time pass by without acknowledgement, but be sure that I am trying to appreciate every moment, even those that pass me by without notice!