Life is an interesting series of events tied down by time and yourself. Without time, you would exist but have no context. Without yourself, there would be no reference for understanding. Yes, I may like to dabble in the philosophical. But if you truly think about it, both elements facilitate what you would refer to as your life.
The thing with time is that it causes one of two things to happen. Any physical thing placed in time will either increase or deteriorate and I believe it applies heavily to our lives as well. There is a point at which maintaining the same lifestyle is no longer possible. You either need to move on up, or give in. Humans are, in many ways, like sharks swimming in slow motion. If we stay still we will die, but it takes us longer to realise whether or not we have actually stopped moving forwards or backwards.
So we all have a choice:
Grow Up
OR
Grow Old
I have met many individuals who have grown old without ever growing up. This is a really sad reality. It is so easy to get hung up by things that, in all honesty, should never affect you emotionally. Whether it’s someone parking where you normally park, not being invited to something you feel you should have been or being upset about things you cannot always control – we can all grow old and let that hold us back from moving forwards with things that matter. In fact, I have met people younger than me who are WAY older that I am.
Growing up is a more favourable option. I’m sure you have met people who just seem to be winning in life. Those people who get the promotion, have the new car given to them, those seem to be happy about everything – aren’t they just so annoying?! The thing is, I can tell you from experience that they have learnt to grow up. They have learnt to ignore certain things that could affect them. They have chosen not to let your annoyance affect how they live their lives.
I don’t deny that there are seasons. If you know anything about growth, you need to grow your roots before you grow your leaves.
You may be in a time when things are dark and smelly and hard going. That’s you growing your root system.
You may be in the season where you are just sprouting – stretching your branches wide.
You may be in the season where both your ‘roots’ and your ‘branches’ are growing and you are feeling the tension.
All three seasons are valid. But all of them are progressive and require a certain level of determination. So whatever you’re going through at the moment, I want to encourage you to think about which category you are in:
- Are you caught up in the swaddled details of life and growing old
- Are you growing in the ‘dark’, in the ‘light’, or in both areas.
If you need help to get out of any sort of ‘funk’, speak to people with bigger perspectives than you – people who have done the hard times and are consistently growing. Hope this helps!