The Gift of Time

Do ever feel that time moves too fast? That days, weeks, even years are slipping away? Today, the world moves so darn fast that it is literally training us to live in a constant state of dissatisfaction. We are always reaching for the next best thing instead of what's right in front of us. I personally am guilty of this at times. I live my life trying my best to always stay as present as possible, but even I catch myself in these states, not purposefully.

Jason and I have chatted about our life and where we are versus where we expected to be. I think since becoming a parent and watching our kids grow the concept of how fast time seems to go by hits you like a ton of bricks. Honestly, it seems like ever time I look down at them they have truly grown an inch, learned a new crazy concept or developed a little more personality. Which in turn makes me personally reflect on myself and how far I have come. I've realized lately that the concept of time can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Time, on a practical level was created so that we could plan our lives and our days. Time has made it so that life can be more efficient, convenient and accurate. But time, on a psycological level can be our worst enemy. This is when the future takes over your mind and you're in a constant state of living in your head. You enjoy very little and find it nearly impossible to feel gratitude for your life now! You find yourself saying the phrase... "When this happens..... Then I can be happy...Then life will be easier...Then life will be more enjoyable". 

After speaking to Jason I realized that he was finding it a tough to stay present for this exact reason. I felt that getting him a physical form of time would help remind him that time is precious. I thought a watch would be the perfect fit. I told him that every time he looks at his watch I want him to out of his head and back into the "now." I know that a watch seems kind of like a superficial thing, but it has truly helped my hubby to be more aware of time and how precious it really is. Jason fell in love with his watch at first site, which worked out awesome. Every time he looks at his watch he tells me its has had such a positive influence on his life. 

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This post was sponsored by Jord Wood Watches

Wooden Wristwatch

It's the Journey, Not the Destination

I swear there is a natural internal force that calls us to the mountains. Something about these beautiful natural forms of artwork has always had a special place in my heart. Hiking is something I wish I had more time to do, heck, it's something I need to make more time to do. Every time I get out on a hike my mind and body bring me to places that soothe my soul. This particular hike, Wilcox Pass, was no exception. It's located in Jasper National Park, near the Icefields Centre. It is a round trip of 8 km (5 mi) and an elevation gain of 335 m (1100 ft). It took us around 2.5 hours. Never have I been on a hike that was so instantly and extravagantly gratifying. During this hike I found my mind wandering a lot. On that morning, while traveling to the Wilcox trailhead, I really was not feeling it. I wanted to be lazy and just relax. Jason was persistent, though, in getting me off my butt, and I'm soo grateful he was.

I went into this hike with the mindset to get it done fast. The way I saw it, the faster I got it done the faster I could get back to relaxing, haha. Little did I know what I was about to experience. From the beginning, I had my head down and was just pushing through this hike, the end goal being to get it done quickly. About a half hour in Jason said something I won't ever forget. Sarcastically he told me to not forget to look up, I gave him my usual death glare and continued on. He couldn't have said it at a better time. Five minutes later we came around a bend and there sat the 2 red chairs. Jason had his signature half-smile, told-you-so look on his face while we took in a view that would stop anyone in their tracks. It was like I had an epiphany. We all go through life just charging through, trying to get to our destination. Little do we realize that if we forget to look up and look around we can miss some of the most spectacular moments. The quote "It's the Journey, not the destination" took a whole new literal meaning lol. Life's about these moments. The moments you aren't expecting, and if you don't force yourself in the hard times to stop and look up you may miss something so captivatingly beautiful. After my moment I wanted to be nowhere else. I committed to enjoying every second of the hike (journey) until the very end. When you take this concept and reflect it onto life, in general, it can be quite an eye-opener. We don't always have Jason's around to remind us to look up and reflect. Don't allow what life is really about to pass you by because you were too stubborn to look up.

So I'm going to be your "Jason" for today and encourage you to STOP! Look around and just feel gratitude for 5 things in your life right now. It can be something as simple as the sun coming up. For me, one of the things I'm grateful for is all of you. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this and for being part of my journey. :)