The Season is Heating Up

There are some Theoretical Physicists who say time is an illusion and that it doesn’t exist.  They say that each moment is an individual place in time and stands separately from all of the other moments that we experience.  They say that all the moments are separate, but exist all as a whole collection in the same place.  If you knew how, you could access any given moments as easily as the one that you are living in right now.

That is in Theoretical Physics.

In my world, I am looking at a calendar that progresses from one day to another.  I am looking at opportunities that are here one moment and then gone the next.  Never to be had again.  Knowing that there are hundreds of moments that come and go every day, the trick is to identify which ones to take and which ones to let go past.  Some of these opportunities are family, some job, some athletic, some health and some are personal.  Setting priorities in your life is so important in this respect.  Setting outcome and process goals is another important component in identifying which opportunities to act on.

Disappointment, guilt and self-loathing often occur when you identify the opportunities that you want and then not acting on that desire for one reason or another. It is too cold.  I love this movie!  I need to take my son to the emergency room.  O.K. One more beer.  My daughter is playing in the championship.  Any one of those reasons has caused people to miss other opportunities in life.  Which ones of those excuses are just a shifting of priorities and which ones are honestly a distraction from what you really want out of life.

I have this friend who has enjoyed a life of exploration and risk.  His cousin’s wife was driving down the highway when a truckload of boards came undone and the 2 X 4s came raining down on her car.  She wasn’t killed, but was injured to the point that she is in a permanent vegetative state.  When he told me this news he said that some changes were going to be made in his life.  I asked him if he would stop taking as many risks and play things a bit more safe.  He laughed at me with a puzzled look on his face and said that no he was going to be more adventurous and experience life to the fullest.  You never know when you will be gone or incapacitated and not be able to take advantage of the opportunities that come before you.

There have been a few things that have happened over the last week or so where people that are connected to the Phoenix community have been tragically killed in car crashes and taken way before their time.  It is moments like that where I am remended that life is fragile and is an amazing gift.  We plan for tomorrow growing complacent with the thought that we are entitled to a long and full life.  We come up with numerous reasons to not do what we want, to not pursue what will make us feel whole, to not accept the opportunities that will make us feel alive.

For me, pinning on a race bib and stepping up to the line is a major way for me to be reminded to live the lifestyle that brings me fulfilment and excitement.  My first race is only three weeks away.  The 2015 season is on the doorstep and has even started for some with the Polar Bear Dash yesterday.

It is cold and snowy.  Life is busy and hectic.  But are you pursuing the opportunities that help you be you?  Are you putting in the planning and the organizing to do the things that need to be a priority and letting go of some things that are a distraction from what you find truly meaningful?  Have a Phoenix Moment this week and pick one new thing that will make your life turn in the direction that you want it to go and let go of one old thing that seems to derail your plans.