Every year she arrives. Driving in a hurry, rushing at a speed faster than the previous year’s pace, she is here.
After December drives this way, she doesn’t slow down. The hurry continues.
I’m looking now at my schedule. The plans, the events, the appointments, the gatherings, the meetings: they’ll arrive quickly and end suddenly. Decorations and gifts and meals and conversations: here then gone.
A New Year will appear. Another January will open the door and walk in without ringing the doorbell or texting her estimated time of arrival. She’ll tell me I had it scheduled on my phone. I’ll respond by arguing my case about her always being in a hurry.
But what can we do? What should we do?
During this December, schedule time to do nothing. At least a little time to do nothing. Not shop. Not wrap. Not decorate. Not cook. Not travel. Yes, we’ll need time for those priorities, but schedule a few not-at-this-time moments.
Not in a hurry.
Not spending.
Not accomplishing or achieving.
Not trying harder and harder.
But slowing. And stopping.
Letting the hustle wait a while. Letting the rush stay away.
Open the eyes and ears to the sights and sounds of nature, of memories, of wind blowing, of birds singing. Open the mind to the season’s true reminders. Open your calendar to add nothing for a little bit of time.
December is here. Briefly.
We can’t shift the pace of time’s hurry.
But we can change how we respond.
