Autumn is in full swing in Minnesota, and each day I enjoy the lovely, colorful leaves on the trees. Some trees still have all their green leaves, others are in full glorious yellows, oranges, and blazing reds, and some are already completely bare. I keep thinking I should stop and take some pictures as I rush from place to place, but if I took the time, I'd be late to wherever I had to go. So I haven't stopped.
The other day, I was shocked to see that the goldenrod blooms which were so beautiful just a few days ago (it seemed) were now fluffy and gray. How in the heck did that happen? When did they change... it seemed so sudden! And why didn't I stop when they were at their beautiful best?
Sometimes time seems to hit you in the face, and that day, it really sucker punched me. I thought about how, most of the time, time just flows along, unnoticed, and quiet, and then all of a sudden, BAM! You realize that it has passed, and somehow you missed it -- a whole bunch of it.
That's often how we live our lives, going with the flow -- sometimes we're flowing amongst the rapids and it seems like we can hardly breathe we're going so fast. Other times, it's peaceful and quiet, and we float along, not thinking much about what's coming next, or even looking at what we are passing by on the shore.
Time is such an elusive concept... in my river analogy, it's the river... and the shore. It's in the minute changes that happen day-to-day and minute-by-minute, in us and in everything and everyone around us. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it as I type this. We are carried along by time, and yet we are affected and changed by it, too. The one thing I know is that it waits for no one.
I'm glad time sucker-punched me that day, because since then, I've tried to be more mindful about the shore, opening my eyes and taking in as much as I can. Because one day, if I'm not mindful, my life will be different (heck, tomorrow will be different!), and I will wonder where all that time went. It didn't go anywhere... it was there all along, flowing mindlessly while I closed my eyes to it.
So open your eyes, as I try to keep mine open. Look in wonder at the beauty around you, at the beautiful people around you. Notice something new today; look for it like you would look for treasure. Because that's what life is, a treasure given to us to enjoy and give thanks for. And stop and take a few pictures while you're at it!
