When time is Slipping through Your Hands- Why You Need To Learn To Anchor Each Moment!
When Time is Slipping Through Your Hands - Why You Need to Learn to Anchor Each Moment
Do you find time slipping through your hands? There is a solution! Let’s talk about learning how to anchor each moment! How was your week? I spent a lot of time pondering time! Right now, I know that it is that time again; I have looked forward to this all week! Grab your mug and set aside a few moments and let’s chat!
I know we shared about time as a mindset just two weeks ago, but in my experience, time is a topic that has many facets and therefore is rich for discussion!ch
Make Room For the Breath
In the quick pace of the week past, the question that kept coming to mind in my quiet time was, “how do you make room for the breath in the day?” How do you mark moments so they will stick in your mind rather than allowing time to slip through your fingers as grains of sand? Is it possible to move through at a quick pace and still feel like we have breathed and were truly engaged in all that we have done?
How often do we move robotically through our day, checking off items on our to do list, for the primary purpose of moving onto the next item, the next day, the next month, the next thing! I wonder if time would/could feel less slippery if we had a better awareness of how to find that breath and engagement in the day?
When What You Thought Were “Unimportant Distractions” Are Turned Into Important Framing Moments
As this swirled around in my thoughts all week, I took note as I painted
my toenails, noticed the cool of the kitchen floor on my bare feet, stopped and really looked at the flowers growing in my yard, took the time to sing along with the music on my car radio rather than using it just as background noise and found myself smiling and enjoying the bright yellow in my dress. They were small things, seemingly unimportant and not related to all to the things on my to-do list. At first they seemed like only unimportant distractions, but as I thought more about it I realized that these “distractions” became important moments that helped frame my time. As I sat and remembered these particular moments, I had more of a sense of what happened before and after these moments. It took away a lot of the “blur” of the day and the feeling of haste.
It was an interesting revelation. Not necessarily something that I hadn’t known before, but certainly something I haven’t been putting into practice.
What We Need to Know About Moments
In this moment there can be only today and now. There needs not be a before or after. If I chose to anchor in this moment I will truly live because when I anchor I honour the moment and my experience in it and that allows me to frame the rest of the time I spend.
How Do I Anchor The Moment? Intentionality and Reflection
There are many ways to anchor a moment.
1) Being intentional
Our time must be anchored. It must always be intentional and purposeful; in work or in rest, never wasted or allowed to skip by unnoticed. That doesn’t mean we always have to be busy. On the contrary, it gives us permission and space to acknowledge down times and rest in them. How are we intentional about our time? By acknowledging the moments. Being aware of what we are doing and how we are engaging in it.
2) Turning autopilot off
Getting out of the habit of moving on autopilot and into the habit of attending to what we are doing is very important. We can be thoughtful and reflective as we move, even when moving at high speed. This process will help to frame our time and take the “blur” out of the day. Each moment builds on the one before and a beautiful chain of living follows – like a lightning bolt that traces our path through time.
How Do I Anchor the Moment? Re-Framing and Gratitude
3) Re-framing our perception from one of getting through to enjoying in.
Life is not just about the end point. It is more like a game of connect the dots; each moment a dot in the overall picture. One moment not acknowledged leaves a gap in the image. We must commit to noting the moments. Time will pass by but you will have anchored it in the moments and a beautiful image of your experience with time will emerge. An image, not just for you to look back on but for others to see as you walk your journey.
4) Gratitude
Intentional gratitude is a wonderful habit to cultivate. When we are intentionally grateful we begin to see things that we have never seen before; or even better, we begin to see the things we have always seen, but in a new way. Gratitude is taking the time to stop and smell the flowers (literally), the time to stop and engage and truly listen when we ask someone how they are, the time to appreciate the small pleasures in life. We can also begin to find gratitude in the midst of situations we may not have planned or care to be in, by looking closely to find the lesson or the gift.
What I Know
We can anchor our moments and keep time from slipping through our hands, fully engaging and living our life through:
- Making room for the breath
- Allowing seemingly unimportant distractions to frame our time
- Acknowledging that anchoring the moment allows us to honour our experiences
- Acknowledging the moments
- Being thoughtful and reflective, even as we move at high speed
- Connecting the dots
- Creating a picture of our journey – moment by moment
- Being uniquely us
- Enjoying the ride
- Letting our hair down and letting the wind blow it where it will.
We are Children of God – we must let others see the joy that is in us, the joy that is uniquely ours and different from what the world has to offer.
Honouring Our Time Together
My cup is empty but my heart is full. Our time together each week is a perfect example of anchoring the moment, being thoughtful and reflective and intentional about how we use our time. I’m honoured that you have chosen to sit with me in these moments and I look forward to our time together again next week!
Until Next Time
This week, begin to anchor your time! Take the time to be intentional and grateful with your time. A few blogs ago I offered an Attitude of Gratitude download to use. Dig it out again and give it a whirl. Click here AttitudeofGratitudeMindMap to download it!
If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click here to go directly to Weekly Devotions with Laurie.
Until next time,
From my heart to yours!
Laurie
