COUNTDOWN

There are 35 days left until we celebrate “Mother’s Day”, 77 days to “Father’s Day”, 128 days to “My birthday”, 264 days to “Christmas” and I can keep adding events such as graduations, vacations, weddings, and many more that are scheduled to take place on specific dates. These events occur in our lives in a normal way, they can be transitory or sometimes repetitive. It is also common to observe how television, radio and all businesses remind us of the time remaining for a holiday and begin reminding us of urgent need to prepare by buying what is necessary for our celebration to be successful through a constant “REGRESSIVE ACCOUNT OF THE DAYS” that we still experience when these festivities, events or triumphs are achieved.

Regardless of constantly reminding us of the days until Valentine’s Day, The New Year, the mid-year holidays; They suggestively pressure us to live our lives more quickly, speeding up our subconscious in such a way that we lose the perception of time to satisfy our desires to reach the future before the established time. Engaged in the expectation of what our future happiness may be and sometimes restricting our ability to be happy to the fullest in the present.

From childhood to adulthood, it is normal for human beings to establish a “Countdown of time” that we will use until we reach a specific date; it is situation that I have also experienced many times and believe that all people have experienced at some point in their life while waiting for an important event to arrive.

If we analyze human behavior in a simple way, we can compare our behavior or way of thinking through the years. Thus, we can see that children enjoy every day to the fullest; they play, eat, go to school, laugh, cry, get sick, recover, behave well, misbehave and even if they receive punishments, they do not lose the desire to live and be happy every day. For example, children can get restless while waiting for a special date to arrive and in a certain way establish a “Countdown” by constantly asking their parents how many days until Christmas and even when their parents have replied that there are 264 days left, they receive the answer without concern since time is not important during childhood. In addition, that period of 264 days that they must wait does not generate stress, worries, insecurities, or deficiencies. On the contrary, they receive the answer with their eyes illuminated by hope and the longing to know that they will be able to enjoy a day full of games, fun, food, all in the company of family and friends. So, they just wait patiently for Christmas to come. Although every so often they ask again, “And today, how many days until Christmas?”

As we grow, our way of thinking changes, as well as our tastes and desires. That is why when we wait for the arrival of an important event, we become in some ways, selfish, worrying about looking good, about being fashionable, about pleasing our friends more than our parents, about controlling our weight or food what we eat. By establishing a “Countdown of Time” in adolescence, we can obsess and think all the time about the days until we are evaluated, graduated, have a talent night, a ball game, a walk with our friends, a field trip, and therefore our attitudes can change. We can get irritated easily, respond in a bad way and even forget the important things in our lives on many occasions. In extreme cases, an adolescent can ignore the entire environment that surrounds them and dedicate themself to living each day waiting for that future event that will fill them with happiness, regardless of whether or not their present is full of confusion or dissatisfaction.

As we reach adulthood, our responsibilities change dramatically, as do our expectations and the way we live our lives. When a “Time Countdown” is established, we do it with a little more maturity, but with all the worry and fixation of thinking that our responsibilities can force us to live in a restricted way. Since we do not have enough time to fulfill all our tasks. That is why there are times when some people prefer not to think about planned future events, because they generate anguish and discouragement. Therefore, they come to live feeling bottled up in traffic, routine, work, grocery shopping, or children’s activities. If this situation happens to us, we can make the mistake of forgetting ourselves and start trying to please everyone we meet. Resulting in a loss of the primary values ​​that make us love ourselves, losing security in what we do and perhaps self-esteem, self-recognition of all the professional, family, or religious work we do.

For this reason, as far as we can, we must avoid the radio, television or possibly some friends, harassing us with the reminder of important dates that we cannot control and that we still strive to achieve by establishing a “Countdown”. By acting in this way, we could forget about living day to day with personal satisfactions that help us to be better parents, siblings, friends, and human beings. Sometimes creating strong headaches in various aspects related to the environment in which we develop, prevent us from living as children; enjoying with intensity the happiness that we owe to ourselves and that we can develop or share with the beings we love.

However, from childhood to adulthood there is an indifference to valuing the time we have, which changes dramatically when we begin to age, since we have learned to value the days that we still have to live. Days that disappear every night when the moon rises to never return and even with that knowledge, we forget to enjoy the time and smile. When we reach old age, it seems to us that time does not matter because we have it in abundance, having freed ourselves from many responsibilities and tasks to be carried out. In old age, we long for the company of family or friends and we long for the company of your children. Remembering the happy moments and suffering the discomforts of a tired body that does not work well. On the contrary, our spirit that does not age remains active within a body that does not respond to our desires, because it lacks energy, vigor, or youth. When faced with the dilemma of feeling young, but looking old in front of the mirror, many people become depressed, losing the desire to live and mistakenly believe that with each sunrise they get closer and closer to the end instead of thanking for one more day of life and taking advantage of it. to the maximum doing recreational activities that do not require much physical effort to continue enjoying life and find happiness in everything they do. I have been able to observe how some people are obsessed with finding the magic formula that can turn back time so as not to lose their youth, energy, and the desire to live. Because they refuse to accept the reality of the cycle of life in which we are born, grow, reproduce, and die. Falling into a deep sadness that leads to depression accelerating their journey in this life and sometimes it is impossible to help them to change their way of thinking or feeling, by not being able to stop time.

In the Bible in Matthew 6:34 we are urged to live each day, not anticipating the future. And we can use this council to enjoy, suffer, or regret the consequences of our decisions. I believe that no matter how old we are, we must take care of our bodies, our spirits, our thoughts and focus on learning to accept the passage of time with all that it implies in our lives. But never forget to enjoy every moment of everything we do, no matter how heavy our tasks or difficulties we are experiencing. Since there will always be an opportunity to recognize those simple things in each day that can help us feel happiness, peace, or satisfaction in knowing that we have a fighting spirit to live forever. Without longing for a past that will not return or suffering in advance for a future that does not belong to us. Although on this earth our days come to an end. So, let’s cry when we have to cry, let’s laugh when we have to laugh, let’s be happy when happiness is in front of us and wisely learn to live day by day.