No, this isn't a post about exercise. Or yoga (which may or may not be exercise, depending on how you're doing it).
It's about time. You know, that thing we never have enough of.
I'm in the vacation vortex this week, running around like a headless chicken trying to make sure that I have luggage locks and passport and shampoo and clothes and the last memo at the office is done and my out-of-office email is set and my voicemail says I've fled the country so please don't expect me to call you back. Oh, and I've got to get the Euros and contact lens solution. It's a veritable festival of "to dos," which I love because I love lists. And making lists. But it's exhausting. Or maybe it's just my approach to it (more likely).
Sometime during the running around I realized that I was having that feeling we all have when bound for paradise: "Just as soon as we're wheels up I can relax!" But then what happens? What happens is the same thing that happens on every vacation. One minute I'm "wheels up" and outbound for adventure, and almost exactly five minutes later I'm back at home, sitting at my desk writing memos again. Where did the time go? My vacation was over in the blink of an eye. It's never long enough. Ever.
Then it occurred to me: That's exactly like life, isn't it? We run and chase and list-make and accomplish tasks and hurry up to retire and then, exactly five minutes after we retire -- not to put too fine a point on it -- we're dead. Yep. There's just no time, or not nearly enough of it.
So I took a deep breath and reminded myself that the running around chaotic madness -- just like with life -- is all part of the journey. If I rush through today anticipating tomorrow or the day after that, then I'm missing today. And I won't ever get today back. And as soon as I dismiss today in favor of tomorrow, I'm just wishing my life away, which is going to end soon enough anyway.
Slow down. Embrace the journey -- the entire journey; chaos or not. Life is more than just about "getting there," wherever "there" is. It's about being here.
Okay, now back to your chaos.