It’s officially September. Where did the time go?
It was only six months ago when we were told to stay home, keep our hands clean, and wear masks. Between then and now, we’ve accelerated past Summer and now we’re speeding headfirst into Fall. Where did the time go?
We keep telling ourselves, “We just need 2020 to be over with. 2021 will be better.” I think the important question we need to ask ourselves is, “Why the rush?” This year has moved so hastily that we were barely able to hold onto ourselves. The months sped up without asking “Are you okay?” We sat here without letting self-compassion and grief sink in. Now, we’re in the ninth month of the year, and we all just want it to be over. Because that’s the easy route right? Let it be done with so we can move on. Let us sweep it under the rug so that we can be free of this chaos. But this chaos brings questions about our future. Our 2021 cannot be reached if we are unable to finish 2020. So, let’s slow down a minute.
What has happened this year that is sticking to you? Release it. Rushing into 2021 and not grieving and catering to the needs of 2020 will only cause a repetition of events and unsolved inner turmoil. Take your time and look within you to see what’s causing the grief, the fear, the anxiety, the hate, and the love. By slowly stepping into 2021, we are able to calmly soothe ourselves through each moment that seems too difficult to handle. By handling it now, with care and tenderness, you provide yourself the space to feel.
When this pandemic started months ago, we made the goal to lose weight, write a book, and bake bread. We rushed into distractions. We rushed into coping mechanisms. We rushed into needing to control everything around us. But we couldn’t. The world unraveled in our hands like yarn and it slipped away from us, and now it’s September.
Where did the time go?
Time doesn’t slow down for anyone. Time is a construct. It is a reflection of change, so they say. With time moving quickly, let’s take a moment to slow down. Ask yourself these questions: “How can I be nicer to myself today? How can I not punish myself for not being productive? How can I accept myself more today?”
Slow down and reach inside yourself to see what’s picking at you. What is aching inside of you that needs to be spilled out onto the floor and cleaned up before the year ends? What do you not want to rush into 2021 with? Rushing into the new year, without handling what is depriving you of life right now, will strip you of being present in the future. 2020 has taught us resilience, perseverance, and adaptability. It has taught us to heal ourselves and help heal others. However, a learned experience is not actually learned until it is actively used. We’ve learned these things, but how can we serve ourselves by slowing down and reflecting on the knowledge we’ve gained?
It would be so easy to drift into 2021 thinking it will bring better days. But, have you not had better days squeezed into the heavy days of this year? Have you not smiled or laughed through painful moments you thought you couldn’t get through? We’ve plastered a sad face onto 2020 because it has astronomically disappointed us in ways we did not expect. Yet, many of us have survived. We cannot dismiss the loss we’ve encountered and the depression that we’ve endured, but we’re here. This moment that you have right now is what you make of it.
This moment we have right now, in September of 2020, is all we have. Take a moment to breathe in and reflect on what you’ve been through. There have been so many highs and lows, but we cannot rush into the highs without knowing the lows. 2021 will bring many highs, but like 2020, it will have moments that may be considered the lowest of low.
2021 is not the answer to our “problems”. We must slowly step into the new year with the understanding and empathy of our experiences in 2020. Once December 31st, 2020 hits, we need to slowly step into 2021 knowing that we’ve done all we could do and accept that hurt will be healed.
