There’s a lot of noise in this world, and finding words and quotes has always been my go-to in hopes of simplifying and honoring this complicated yet simple thing called life. I often revisit Annie Dillard’s quote: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” What I love about this quote is that Dillard’s matter-of-fact observation serves as a gentle nudge to reflect on how we choose to go about our day-to-day lives. I often find myself reexamining and reevaluating not only long and short term goals, but daily ones (ahem, hello glass of water) as well. They say that time is a valuable commodity, so not being mindful of it feels like such a waste when it comes to being conscious of the actions and choices that we can make to spend time on what matters to us. I recently adopted the mantra of "taking time to take the time," and it’s been useful in reminding me to be intentional in my day-to-day actions. It also gives me the mental space and patience to try new things, learn at my own pace, set personal goals, dream big dreams, and prioritize for the changes and challenges ahead that life inevitably serves up. I’m quickly learning that this type of “slowing down” has unexpectedly guided me in a way that feels intuitive, creative, productive—all of which in turn feels like I’ve been given the gift of time.
