Every Moment is a Transition

Every Moment is a Transition

Change is a good thing. But, sheesh, enough already. 

Last year, I retired from a job I held for 36 years and am devoting myself to Blocks of Life full-time. I’m still in the midst of that transition, but I’m barely making the top five in terms of the transitions around me. My wife is retiring next week, my mother is turning 90 (also next week), and my son recently began his first full-time job. Needless to say, parties abound, and I’m just trying to keep up. Transitions are the specific manifestations of an evolving life. Although they can cause anxiety and are not always thought of in a completely positive light, they should always be celebrated.

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Rainstorm

The Simple Pleasures of a Rainstorm

One of my great joys in life is the anticipation of an approaching storm. I love everything about it—the dramatic change in light and atmosphere, the violence of it, the excitement. It’s almost like watching a great movie, except it’s more impactful because it’s real. During a summer storm, it can go from terribly hot, humid, and still to windy and much cooler in just a few moments. It’s a feast for the senses, as you may notice it’s coming in various ways. Of course, storms can be damaging, but they can also be renewing—wiping clean the conditions and the mood of the day.

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Intuitive Mindfulness

Living Deeply—The Power of Intuitive Mindfulness

A moment can last a lifetime. When you live in the moment, each moment that passes is a world to itself and can be explored as such. Many people lead very surface lives. They are aware of only what they must be to exist or to pass the time. Through mindfulness, you can learn to find depths to life hidden under the surface. As you dig deeper, you develop an intuitive sense of existence and everything in it. You know and understand patterns of everything you experience and can retain and enhance that intuitive awareness as you go deeper and deeper into your life. 

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Fresh start—dawn of a new day

A Fresh Start—Finding a Spark in the Everyday

Life can be inconsistent. Why do you sometimes feel like you’re buried in baggage and history, and sometimes you can move forward unfettered? The difference can be how interesting your work or life activities are. You may be involved in what you perceive to be cumbersome pursuits, while at other times your life can be interesting and exciting. Sometimes the difference is purely psychological. During the times you feel weighted down, you may feel there is no escape from the narrow tunnel you’re in. You may feel there are forces in play that keep your life in constant drudgery, and you aren’t able to defeat them. At other times, even when engaged in the same activities or tasks, you feel energized and invigorated. The work seems light and even fun. If you could figure out the difference between these two scenarios, would it be possible to always keep it fresh?

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Our perception of time

Fitting It in or Filling the Hours—Our Perception of Time

I’ve spent most of my life with every moment spoken for. I’ve had to really work to make time for meditation, exercise, and other self-care activities. This was good. I chose that lifestyle, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Most of the time I enjoyed being in the fray—I like the feeling of being part of something and working hard with like-minded people toward a shared goal. I like being an active part of my son’s life and spending my evenings and weekends coaching baseball. I enjoy my hobbies, thinking and writing about leading a meaningful life, playing music, reading, and wood sculpting, but all these together left no room for downtime.

Again, this was a choice (and one that I would make again), but I never expected or wanted it to last forever. I always envisioned a time when I would have more time—to reflect, to get more serious about my physical fitness and grace, to build a more solid awareness of the universe and my place in it, and to explore new challenges. This involved a significant change in the way I perceive time. Because time is something I’ve never had enough of, I’ve always treated it as a scarce commodity—something I have to be careful with. So, whenever I did something that took significant time, such as reflection or meditation, I used to get antsy—like I was wasting my time. It’s important to develop an awareness of how we perceive time so that our relationship with time is appropriate for our lifestyle and our experiences.

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