Well, it’s that time of year again.
The post-holiday, end of year, bumper sticker wisdom December 31st bullshit.
Yeah, I know. I totally buy into it too. Even posted one or two of my own, though I did try to make them at least a LITTLE more meaningful and unique than the typical post. 😜
And I could further join the fray, write a blog about the past year, and/or the past decade. I could recap every adventure, every lesson, every blessing. I could talk about the path and the journey and the unexpected gift of grace.
But what I really want to reflect on? What caused me to step away from a lovely relaxing night at home with my husband and my fur-baby, quietly ringing in a new year and decade, was this…
What I learned most in the last 10 years… is that everything… is fleeting.
Yes, everything.
Time… is relative. It is a man-made construct we all agree to honor like one particular measurement being called a foot and another being called a meter. Yes, it’s based on a real, measurable thing. But time… is relative. And that is why spending it with a close friend having coffee feels exceptionally different to sitting in a dentist chair for a root canal, even though both of them may have lasted “about an hour.”
Our ancestors, sure, they understood the passing of days. The changing of seasons. But they lived in moments. They tuned into their own inner workings, insights, intuition, and instincts. Because they knew that those things helped us navigate this complex life with these complex bodies and even more complicated souls.
What I learned this year, and decade, is that, in a world of man-made measurements, each and every moment, in the “grand scheme of things” is but a breath. A whisper. A blink.
Every life.
Every age.
Every moment.
Gone in an instant.
Yes, I have had both blessings and losses - this year and this decade. And regardless of the emotions surrounding the events, the events themselves passed quickly. Their mark didn’t. Their influence didn’t. But the moment did.
What I learned is that you have to cherish them all. And you have to know that in the next moment, something may change.
You may be talking with your boss and they casually suggest you further utilize that music degree of yours to start teaching some lessons. He may even offer the church where you’re working as your teaching space. It may change your entire life.
You may be in that abusive marriage… and then you may mercifully find a way out of it.
You may have lost the entirety of your being… and then find yourself renewed and reborn.
You may find support in the most unexpected of places.
You may find yourself being lied to by someone whose very job description is to be one of truth.
You may be crying in your bed every night for the pain of being alone… and then turn around and fall in love with the goofy guy friend who had been in your corner for the last 4 years.
You may marry him. And that day may be one of the best days of your life.
You may be laughing with a close friend, bitching about nothing, drinking good beer, making plans to co-write a musical… and wake up to find out they’re in a coma.
You may be hoping they wake up from the coma… and find out that they passed.
You may be setting up to teach a short Saturday afternoon of lessons… and find a blackbird has made its way into the drop ceiling of your music studio.
You may try to chase it out… and it refuses to leave.
That blackbird, and the dove signs preceding it may lead you to launching your own small business creating spiritual gifts, offering daily messages, and helping others navigate through this crazy life.
You may be eating pizza and watching a favorite television show and instead of starting a new episode, find yourself behind a keyboard offering what little commentary you can on it all… on the very blog that spun off from that small business.
…
What I’m saying is… cherish the blessings. Cherish the people. Cherish the lessons and the pain. All of it, ALL OF IT, will pass. All of it, no matter how agonizing or gleeful it may feel in the present moment, will be but a flicker in the hindsight it will inevitably become.
Life goes on. People change. Relationships grow and decay. So do circumstances. For better. For worse. We all go through it. We can only offer aid to others and do what we feel is best for ourselves. We can choose, at ANY time, whether it be the end of the Gregorian calendar year, the beginning of the Lunar calendar year, or just some random Saturday in the middle of August to change our life. To altar our course. To breathe new energy into our space… and then act upon it.
So don’t feel pressured to make a big fuss. You can make as big a fuss as you want.
Or as little of one.
New year. New decade. New day of the week. None of it matters. And all of it matters. Every moment is significant, or can be. And every one of them will pass. We attribute reverence to things at the drop of a hat… and rightfully so. Because anything can be significant given the right conditions. Anything can be symbolic.
What’s symbolic for me as I sit here typing these final words of 2019 is this…
Our new year, and our new decade, starts with 366 days.
Not the typical 365.
Our new decade starts with a Leap Year giving us an entire 24 hours in addition to the 525,600 minutes we normally get.
We have all the time in the world.
To do whatever it is we need to.
For that flash that each moment exists.
And if that isn’t symbolic of something…. then I don’t know what is.
…
A merry, wondrous, abundant 2020 to all of you. May it be full of blessings, creations, adventures, lessons, and be worthy of being the decade you reflect upon 10 years from tonight.
💖🕯🕊