Is Life Passing You By?

You are probably gearing up for special plans for celebrating Thanksgiving. This year is looking like it will be our little family + my dad, so definitely a smaller crew than I am used to.

Growing up, most of the extended family congregated together, making the trek back to Ohio to celebrate together. While I didn't always love the hours whizzing down on the turnpike, it was worth it to spend the time together and create warm memories.

As Time Flies

That's a funny thing about time, it passes no matter what you do. But how you spend it makes a difference. It can move by slowly in the moment and yet feel like it moved at warp speed once you're through it.

I'll be sharing more next week, but I'm closing in on my THREE YEAR streak of showing up for myself. (Today is #1,089)

That's seriously mind blowing and yet still makes me double check my math. But the iwatch doesn't lie, so it must be true.

(Check out how the first 1,000 days went here)

But when I think back to those trips to the treadmill in the basement or bundling up to take a walk, it feels almost like it was yesterday and not 3 years ago.

It started as a way to give myself evidence that I was starting the new decade strong and has evolved into a moment of self-care each day. Some days, I'm counting down the seconds until I've fulfilled by promise to myself and other days I have to convince myself to not walk "just one more loop" because my escape pass from adulting is timing out.

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So now what?

What's something that can make your time move differently for you? Instead of being lulled by life passing you by, what can you do to make it more memorable, meaningful or worthwhile?

When you're on a long road trip, a good playlist, conversation topics and strategic refueling breaks can make the journey more interesting and engaging.

The same things can work when you're on this journey of life-

• Keeping your spirits high with good vibrations (meditations, affirmations, intentions)

• Talk things out with yourself in your journal or with a good friend

• Plan activities that refuel your spirit (start with making this list)

I had the awesome opportunity to share more of my journey on the Monastic Mamas podcast and you can hear how I've used each of these methods (and a few more) in my journey so far. Listen on iTunes, Spotify​

So Is Life Passing You By?

Take a some time to pause and reflect about your day, your life. It doesn’t have to take long, just a quick check in with yourself about how you thought or planned the day would go and how it’s really faring. Taking a moment to be still in your mind, body and spirit to check in with yourself can be as simple as-

• during the first few sips of your tea or coffee

• when you walk to get the mail (one of my favorite daily activities)

• even while you sit on the toilet (without your phone)

• taking a beat before you exit the car or step through a door

Being “off-track” isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you were following the flow that felt in alignment with you. The issue comes more from when you stick your head up from the swirl of life and realize that where you are isn’t where you intended to be, and it doesn’t feel good.

Aligned Action

When when you have a moment to come back to your journal or to talk things out with yourself, ask yourself

Where is my life just passing me by and what am I going to do about it?

If the answers are unclear or you don’t know the next steps to take, check out the Firefly Scout Illumination Kit as a guide to get you started on knowing yourself better and uncovering the answers to life questions like this.

I'd love to know what you thought about the podcast episode! Take a listen and let me know on Instagram or leave a comment below.

I hope your journey through the holiday season includes a dash of introspection, a whiff of your true self, a bite of inspired action so that you can give more light to your life.

Sending you inspiration to live a life that lights you up!

This post appeared in part in my newsletter. If you would like having easy to try tips to guide you toward living a life that lights you up delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Firefly Scout newsletter.

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