At the beginning of 2012 I wrote a post The Idle Girl in which I told you about my projects for this year.
Pinterest was a baby in diapers and look how that social platform took off. Amongst its new features are shared boards and secret boards now (I use one to file unread articles and pictures and find it very useful as I am a visual person).
My other project The 366 Photo Project on tumblr is alive and thriving, ok, the early enthusiasm has worn off and I do not post on a daily basis but I have not missed a day. Leafing through this photographic journal is a trip in fast motion, watching nature’s cycles from seed to fruit or seeing the poplar in the back in different seasons:
It is also a fast motion roller coaster ride of my own year: what have I accomplished so far? Has anything changed in the course of the last 10 months?
The concept of time keeps intriguing me, especially since I have this growing uneasy feeling that time is racing and I want: “so much to do, so little time” (said the White Rabbit to Alice).
And maybe it is better to concentrate on a few projects and follow through with them, instead of tackling too many and not paying the necessary attention to them. Did you know I have a web shop? This is another project of mine, alas it is not at the top of my priorities. I love to make my own organic scented soy wax candles and food products.
Why so morose? My second blogoversary is approaching and I wonder where the journey will take me.
Yesterday I read somewhere that the happiest people are the ones who live in the moment. This is good enough for me, one day at the time.
And how do you feel about time?
Is time a snail or a fast galloping racehorse?
Do you live in the moment?
Comments 34
Hi Barbara! I always rush right over when I see you’ve posted something! I hope you can make the Hangout next week!
This concept of time has been intriguing me as well. I’ve been re-reading my book on Quantum Physics just to try to get my mind around it but it’s a slow study (see! Time – again!) It is easy to see the passing of it when you look out at the trees, as you have done with photographing your poplar but we always feel as if we are standing still and time moves around us, don’t we?
Have you ever read The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav? I bet you’d love it!
Hugs
Lori
@Lori Hi Lori, my dear! Thank you so much, as you know I am not as much online as before, please, do not think me rude for replying rather late. And I love comments, there is some contradiction in it, I know!
Yeah, this concept of time, I think I can best understand the way my friend explained it to me (I mentioned it in a comment at Life, for Instance). This is a lovely way you have of looking at it: we are standing still and time moves around us, would not quantum physics say that everything flows? Maybe we should not take ourselves so seriously but go with the flow, like a reed in a gale, not resisting – bending but not breaking.
No, I have not read The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav, enlighten me, please!
Thank you so much, I do appreciate you reaching out!
Big Hugs, Barbara
@Late_Bloomers It’s a wonderful explanation/introduction to Quantum Physics Barbara! A tough read, one I take slowly so I can absorb it,but wonderful!
@Lori Hey, thanks my dear! You tempt me! No, honestly I find the subject very interesting and I will tackle it.
I love your new post, it is funnily written, entertaining and yet so much fodder for thought! Thanks!
It’s not the moments in your life, it’s the life in your moments.
@Lucylastica2 So true Lucy!
@Lucylastica2 Lucy, this is wonderful and I should remind myself more often of it. Live in the now!
Have you ever visited Lori’s place, Life, for Instance? I love her thoughtful posts and the ensuing discussions.
@Late_Bloomers I will be sure to pop over and visit at the weekend-thanks!
@Lucylastica2 @Lori Great, you will like it!
It’s a galloping racehorse… I hear its hooves behind me and like you I fear I will never get done all the things I want to do!! I have realised that the statement about living in the now is true, and I strive to do so. Also just being grateful every day for the blessings I have is tremendously helpful 🙂 Love the 4 photos of the tree – such a concrete illustration of the passing of time. On that topic, did you see this link I posted earlier this week? I think you’ll like it… http://mashable.com/2012/11/12/timelapse-self-portraits/
@Cooksister What an image, Jeanne, I can feel its breath and the power of 700 kg of sheer muscles right behind me! Now the slug would be watching from its vantage post and wonder why.
Yes, I did see your link, thanks, and watched the first clip of the guy who walked through China, wonderfully made and I can fully relate to his question “Who was this guy?”. This is how I felt after a 28 days hardcore Ayurvedan therapy in India (wish now I had taken more pictures)!
BTW I got myself more shawls – you would love them!
I agree that there never seems to be enough time in a given day.
I once heard this great explanation about our view of time being totally wrong. We start our day by creating a list of things to do in that day according to what our brain feels are the things needing to be done.
What we should do is wake up and see how we feel, figure out how much energy we have in our physical and mental batteries. Then plan your activities and to-do according to your level or mental & physical batteries can accommodate that day.
It made a lot of sense and has helped me out on many days. I think @DeepakChopra explained this once.
@patrickwagner Hi, Patrick, welcome and thanks for your thoughtful comment.
If only I was able to organise my day in this way, already making up excuses for my job, my taking care of my family etc. It makes sense to use the energy at hand and not create a list of mostly unimportant items to fill your day. In the end I end up being even more unhappy than before as the list items will not get done. And it confirms my belief of living in the now. Thanks!
Dammit lady! Got me thinking again. Ha.
Time is a funny bedfellow for sure. It just flies by when i doing something I love and just crawls when I don’t. Think about how short a minute is when you are living your life and then think about how long a minute is when you are doing push-ups. Bingo!
One day at a time is the only way to live. Living in the past is no good. It’s done and gone. Learn and move on. Always in the clouds for me doesn’t work either. Grounded. Here. Today. i am writing to you now. There is nothing else in my field of view. When I am done I will move on to the next thing until we meet again (when you comment on my comment).
Thanks for visiting me and for your wonderful comments. You are such a great persoan and I am honoured to have met you this way.
Happy blogoversay! When is the day?
@rdopping Anything to keep you on your toes! LOL
Push-ups do not come into my mind when thinking of you. Golf, yes, but push-ups? No way!
Measurement of time: going to the dentist (did you see the ugly x-rays on tumblr? quite revealing) or enjoying a glass of splendid red wine (preferably an Amarone) with good friends, a fresh plate of tagliatelle with thin slivers of white truffles snowed on top of it.
You know I keep thinking about that remark of yours on twitter: the Swiss and their ire. There, again, we have this cultural thing: the Swiss are not prone to display emotions but they have this tendency to complain and nag, most unpleasant, I have to watch out!
And right back at you: I am honoured and very happy to have met you this way. And one day we will stroll through Toronto and toast each other with some fine wine or single malt whisky. Cheers!
Big day is on November 22 and then another party will beging!
Sweet Barbara! I have missed you! You have such a gentle and thoughtful way with words and your photography tells a story all on it’s own. For me, time is racing by as a galloping racehorse. My inner voice parrots White Rabbits words…”so much to do…so little time”. I, too, read about living in the moment, being present, staying in the now. I gobble up the words of wise authors who suggest ways for me to do that. And yet, it is a constant struggle. I chide myself when I find myself wishing time away (I can’t wait until…. ) @Lori has turned me on to a couple of new intriguing people who seem to have a handle on how to live in the “now”. The irony is, that the more I read about how to be present, the more I am not present while questing. Does that make sense?
I am so happy I stopped by today…I truly have missed you my friend!
xoxoxo
Claudia
@SocialMediaDDS That IS a conundrum, don’t you think @Late_Bloomers !? How to live in the now while thinking about how that’s possible and learning about it! You Go Girl!
@Lori @SocialMediaDDS You know, Lori, I will always reply to your challenges! Right now I am hungry and I will indulge in some fast food my way: baked beans with some additional chillies! How’s that for living in the now? I will deal with the consequences in another now!
@SocialMediaDDS @Lori Claudia, my dear, I have missed not hearing from you but you are always in my heart and thoughts! Remember the time I told you about my aunt Susy looking into the mirror in the morning? Cannot forget that as it seems to have become a constant companion!
And you make sense, I can very much relate to it! If I may use the example of a time concept again: a baby of one year sees six months as 50 % of his or her life whereas an adult of 40 sees six months (where the heck is my calculator?) as 0.6 % of her life. No wonder we are all galloping racehorses!
I am very very happy you stopped by today, big hugs from Switzerland!
xoxoxo Barbara
I love your pictures. I don’t get ‘time’, because in my head as I am getting younger but my age keeps increasing. Go figure. Life is unfair.
@JSJ2020 Hi, Muriel, and a lovely new week to you!
No, it makes perfect sense to me, on different grounds: one might be that we leave the burdening memories of our childhood experiences (and hurts) behind and this makes us feel lighter, hence younger. No?
Time changes for us as we age, I think. I remember being much younger and feeling how slow everything was going. Now, the years just pass by and I see this more as I realize how fast my son is growing. I love thinking about time. However, I have to admit too that I tend to ‘hold on’ to time instead of letting it be. You are correct though that living in the present is one of the most effective pills and roads to happiness. It’s a perpetual effort for me, but I do try. Thank you for your inspiring entry and photos, Barbara! And I will always be grateful to you for starting me on Pinterest! 😉
@jpage.manuel Hi, beautiful Scorpio, I really enjoyed your birthday post, also a point in time where we are prone to ponder the concept of time. Our children grow up so fast, btw has he kept his first tooth to come out? I remember when my daughter lost hers we kept them in a matchbox and forget about them for some time, quite an ugly surprise when we found them after some years.
Living in the now – it is a perpetual effort for me, too but as long as I am aware of it, it is okay with with me.
Pinterest is fun and easy to maintain, is it not?
Have a good week and thanks!
Hi Barbara,
I am always conscious of time which is part of why I haven’t been visiting or commenting upon as many blogs as I used to. It has been important to me to spend those moments working on some projects that are extra important, changes that I want to see happen sooner than later.
I suppose it is my way of saying I do my best to live now but actively work towards the future I want for me to grow into.
@Joshua Wilner/A Writer Writes Good morning, Josh, do we not all visit and comment less? This should be the icing on the cake and not the basis of our blogger existence. The more I appreciate your visits and comments – thanks!
What a lovely description you have of describing your concept of time: I do my best to live now but actively work towards the future I want for me to grow into. It is comforting and humble at the same time.
I’ve had a similar project – marking the passage of time with the seasonal changes in a tree. It’s humbling. And grounding. You can see of those images at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2125540436681.79713.1791025359&type=1
Tom Brown
@oneshoeshy Good morning, Thom, I love your tree and was very sad when you wrote about it being not too healthy – long may it live!
And I enjoyed the clip. Yes, nature makes us feel grounded and we are part of it.
I’ve had a similar project – marking the passage of time with the seasonal changes in a tree. It’s humbling. And grounding. You can see of those images at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2125540436681.79713.1791025359&type=1
Tom Brown
Time is moving too fast right now, especially when I have so much to do right now! But I feel I live in the moment more than anything else, so I am enjoying the time – fast or slow!
@Hajra Hey, Hajra, yes, you are very busy, I have noticed, studies during the week days and connecting online especially on weekends.
This is the spirit: live in the moment and enjoy it, fast or slow! What irks me is when some outside force is dictating the pace and I am not on top of it.
Have a very good week!
So true! I’ve always been a Type A, a planner and it wasn’t until I lived in Huancayo that I was able to really be more spontaneous. I still plan all the time, but I try to be more flexible with plans and more conscious of my priorities such as spending quality time with family. I guess ultimately it’s about the flexibility! =) Thanks for the reminder, Barbara. =)
@Samantha Bangayan … and not getting distracted! Which is one of my weaker sides: dashing from one thing to the other and not scheduling time to be creative!
Thanks, Sam, lovely to see more of you although the circumstances could be better!
Congrats on sticking with the 366 Photo Project. I wish I could have stuck with it myself – maybe next year! As to time, I too feel like it is flying away and that time is of the essence. So much to do and see, not enough money or time!
@JanineRipper How lovely to see you here, Janine, thank you so much! I have just read your latest post and have yet to leave a comment … Yeah, time precious time (whenever I hear “precious” I have to think of “The Lord of the Rings”!), the other day I read something about the connection of pole shift and the concept of time, so finally there is a quantum physics explanation for it – am I relieved but it does not give me more hours, darn!