Here For Years

I am just one of the thousands who have travelled to you. Who have stopped and stared, drawn in and stunned by your beauty, silenced by your unspoken knowing.

Upon leaving your embrace, I came to the conclusion that my life can never again be measured in time. From this point forward, my life will only be measured in experience.

But why?

Like many others, my life has been measured by achievements that seem to be closely accompanied by time. I have lived a life setting goals based on time, often skipping experiences to stay on some self-imposed timeline to reach some self-desired destination on time.

But I can't help but wonder how different life would be if I threw away these limiting concepts and lived for nothing else than the experiences I desired. 

At first glance, this lofty thought seems more than a little self-entered, but for me, the reality is the exact opposite.

If I abandoned time and all of its endless constraints, focusing only on what and who I love, then I believe that I will become far more fulfilled than any time-based success could ever offer. 

And if I follow this thought down the rabbit hole, then I believe that it is fair to say that doing what you love, free from the pressure of time, will allow you the rare ability to know yourself for who you are—allowing you to connect with people sharing a similar path.

Many of us believe that our work grants us this path but I would argue that our careers locks us into relationships that serve other's happiness, other's needs. 

Yes, I share a great friendship ignited at work, but in truth, it's the only one, and for me, that is enough. But I believe that we are great friends because we share far more than time-based goal setting. We have shared life experiences, precisely what I consider a rich life lived in the moment—a simple shared moment with another who has taken the time to invest.  

Many of us search for tribes so that we can feel connected to others. Yet the inevitable question remains, why are we not connected to ourselves? Why do we need others to add a sense of fulfilment? Why is the experience of life, not enough?

Could it be as simple as we are having the wrong experiences? We live on a clock where it is admired to delay our pleasure, like some act of courage that no one cares about anyway. 

This precious gift of life is a one-way journey. But no one said it had to be traveled in a straight line. Free yourself from the limits of time, of delaying enjoyment, of meeting other obligations before your desires, and start living from fulfilling experience to fulfilling experience.