More time than life

In a world of rapid developments, how easily do we take things (and people) for granted? We go to bed certain we will wake up the next morning; we postpone our schedules sure that we’ll have time later on; we procrastinate because we are confident we’ll complete our must-do’s some other instant.

But what if there wasn’t time?

There is a Mexican saying: “there is more time than life” (“Hay más tiempo que vida”) usually told to those who are constantly stressed and complain too much about not having time to fulfil specific goals. Loosely translated, it is that cliché we so often hear: “seize the day”.

It’s the prompt to take each moment for what it is, and realise it to the fullest. Do what you can now, experience every emotion to the utmost, because – really – who knows when you’ll get another chance, or what the next minute may bring.

And to be honest, a minute is a long time to waste. (Just try counting it while doing a plank).

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Indelible memories

©Roger Bultot

It was one of those misty, hazy, winter days, filled with drizzle that turned into thunderstorms before allowing a rainbow to later briefly appear. It reflected her inexplicable mood.

But that wasn’t why she remembered that day.

It was because of him. 

Because regardless of it all, he took her around the city she hadn’t seen. Round the hidden corners, to the fragrant teahouses, the unique little shops, the monumental squares, the tourist attractions, and the unbeknown gems.

He made it special by creating an indelible memory; by imbuing the thrill of discovering something new together. And of feeling loved.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Glow joy

When you first meet a person, you receive a vibe from them; it’s that initial instinct – that hunch – that gives you a sense of what kind of person they are. It’s the aura each person emits that introduces them before they utter a single word.

Auras are in essence the energy field that surrounds us. Because everything is made up of energy, we both emit and receive energy. But that can be either negative or positive, good or bad, depending on our mood, sentimental state, stress, as well as exogenous factors. It’s really a vicious circle: the more vulnerable we feel, the weaker the aura we emit, and the more perceptible it is to negative factors (more stress, anger, bitterness, resentment, sadness etc), that leads to a deterioration of our emotions and consequently further psychosomatic problems.

What we need to realise is that we ourselves are responsible for the energy we put out to the world, and thus our own happiness; but we first need to acknowledge that the meaning of our happiness is something defined by us.

We decide on what we ‘waste’ our energy on, what we devote our time and emotions to, what we allow ourselves to feel and express. The best thing would be to surround ourselves with loving feelings, ones that make us feel worthy, important, and alive. It is said that when you are loved you gain strength, but when you love, you gain courage. And that fills your aura with colour and optimism. And it shows. Because you glow joy. Without even speaking.

Sentimental blue

She wore it round her neck always. A mesmerising necklace like a lost symbol.

A blue in which you could easily lose yourself in; that made you feel all the sentiments you kept confined with an inexplicable euphoria.

Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #236

Logs to remember

©Dale Rogerson

“The secret to more is less”. It was a motto written right across the stairs that led to the downstairs room. It was smartly organised as an autonomous studio flat. And for that reason it was very often used as a guestroom. But the best part of it all was that it was the room with the fireplace, and had the wooden logs aptly stored right out the window.

The first winter there was the one they reminded, because it was their first one together.

But it was right there where they realised they wanted to spend all winters together.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

The answers in silence

©MCD_Athens

How many hours do we spend worrying about things we can’t control, suffering more in imagination than in reality, drawing conclusions out of the slightest of things?

The truth is, we cause our own anxiety by the thoughts that race in our head. What if we could pace those contemplations? What if we could in some way halt them and focus our energy on something mentally healthier and more productive?

Humans are created for greatness – to do things, not be stagnant. We hold ourselves back by the constant anguish that things will go wrong.

And when the chaos becomes too much to handle we seek to escape in nature, in trails that lead to silence.

Simply to acknowledge that silence is some form of answer. Sometimes not getting what you expect is also a way of realising what you deserve, what you’re truly after, what you profoundly want. There is always a way. And there is always time. As long as there is the deep desire to find both.

Only half-way

©Ted Strutz

“This boat trip will only take you half-way. You’ll have to carry on the rest of the journey yourself afterwards”. If only, simply to comprehend you’re capable of more than you credit yourself for.

Do you ever make plans in your head, fantasize stories and happy endings, simply to feel that fulfilling satisfying sensation of completeness; of genuine happiness and tranquillity?

It’s a dangerous thing to do.

Usually because nothing ever works out like the feel-good plans we make unilaterally. Destiny has too many parameters to be forged by us alone.

Regardless of the outcome of life, we continue forward.

Also part of Friday Fictioneers

Prove me wrong

There are times you wish you were wrong. That the risk you took – seldom without overthinking – would pay off. That the impulsive leap you made would result in you landing softly somewhere. That what you feared would be the worst outcome would not be realised.

But overthinkers tend to have all possible scenarios considered. It’s not true, though, that they are shielded from pain because of this. It’s not true that they don’t get hurt because they saw it coming and you’re just proving them right. It’s just as hurtful – even more so – because you so desperately want to be wrong. You want that slight chance of everything defying your fears and turning out so much better. You desire that rarity of a happy ending.

Charles Bukowski had said that “sadness is caused by intelligence; the more you understand certain things, the more you wish you didn’t understand them”.

More often than not we try to escape life to run away from the reality we refuse to accept. We usually know what we ought to do, how we should act, how certain stories of our life will play out. But we obstinately deny it. We have difficulty in acknowledging the facts, because when our emotions are combating our rationale, we are guided by our feelings not our mind. It takes time, but the longer we resist, the harder it gets to let go.

And in the end, we are left with that incessant, perpetuating, yet constantly unanswered question: what if for once things turned out differently, contrary to all odds, to all predictions, to all expectations?

Don’t forget to remember

©The Rebel Bear

They say remembering everything is actually a curse. Because it doesn’t let you move on. Because you’re stuck in your memories and find it difficult to create new ones. Fortunate are those who begin every day from scratch, like a clean slate – a tabula rasa – ready for a new start.  Because you have nothing to pull you back; nothing with which to constantly compare things.

But is it better? To not remember?

The truth is we are our memories. Every single one of them has made us who we are. And there is no escaping that. There is no forgetting that either. Because it’s hard to forget something that forged you.

We’re not supposed to forget. Simply to remember less often. To spend more minutes in the present than in the past. Conscious of the experiences that brought us to this very moment. And aware that perhaps our greatest sentiments have not yet been felt.

Multitasking alert

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who are also into multitasking can relate to how easily it is to be constantly on edge about everything, yet also completely indifferent at the same time. It’s a paradox, indeed. But it also happens.

When you have too much to do, it is much easier to decide to do absolutely nothing.

Until that switch clicks inside you and you become determined to put things into order. That’s the OCD acting out – you get organized, and suddenly also very productive.

The problem with multitasking, however, is that you think you’re doing a lot of things at once, when in essence, you’re occupying yourself with many small things, none of which you finish. It’s like opening tens of tabs on many browsers simultaneously, but actually reading none.

This mentality of wanting to be too busy all the time has actually made us so alert, rather so on edge, that it takes the slightest of things at times to make us erupt.

We’ve created a society where we’re constantly agitated without knowing why and we lash out on the wrong people, at the wrong time, and for the wrong reasons.

What if we tried to put things into order to begin with – without opening up so many tabs? Let’s prioritise things – yes, this is also an OCD thing: lists. But there is an innate satisfaction with seeing that you’re actually getting things done. And in a much calmer and refined way.

“Multitasking makes us feel productive. Single-tasking makes us actually productive”.

Also part of Your Daily Writing Prompt