The Invisible Year

Ever have one... an invisible year?

You know, a series of weeks or months that seem to hold you to one spot, no matter how much you jump up and down on them?
It can give you the blues; especially during winter when the sun is less available for instant cheer. We know very well that we didn’t fritter our time away. We know we used it to dream and strategize, to take courses and to plan some more. As a result of our endeavors we now find that we have created things we never dreamed of only a year ago, and realize that we somehow became adept at skills we had -until quite recently- turned our little noses up at.

...And yet , it feels like our days activities remain pretty much the same, they haven't really changed but a hair. The dream-schedule we nurtured daily in accordance with the best-selling rules of “The Secret” still only lives mostly in our calendar. We see this and the wind suddenly dies away from our rose-coloured sails. We become aware that we are still trying to figure out what our next move should be, and vehemently repeating to ourselves that this endless trial-and-error phase is as essential as it is apparently immortal.

We managed to stay busy over that period, chipping away at our personal Mount Rushmore. When we were not doing that we simply stood there in shock by the sheer magnitude of rock. It was as if we are trying to carve our mark into a granite mountain using but a small chisel and some polishing paper.

Even though many of us started out looking at our mountainous dream saying something like,
“You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s no way I’m climbing that thing. I don’t even like heights. Forget about it!”
But we forgot about that. We've become so caught up in achieving that the thought of that time seems almost embarrassing now.

Of course, that was before Mother Epiphany, (accompanied by a choir, naturally) broke her long silence and clearly sang,
“Actually, you do want to climb a mountain, and here it is! Isn't it marvelous?” But a kudos-recess now seems premature.

The first thing any mentor worth their salt would say is,
“Destination is where ever you are. Anywhere else is no-where else right now.”

So, if we want to influence an outcome (or destination) that is different from where we are at present, we still can only influence it from here, AKA... where we are right now. Plan all we want, a plan is still like Government intelligence; subject to change and pending further information. The only difference is that we are a little bit older.

Scary isn’t it to think of how much time we spend just planning things we rarely do the way we had planned them, and that is if we do them at all. I wonder what that time looks like in terms of years.

These are what I call invisible years. They seem to vaporize into thin air and into a non-refundable past-tense. We hope that the changes we endure in such years are at least internal; educational, broadening of our mind, and perhaps even wisdom-making.

So what’s my point? ...Just these few:

1. Invisible years are never wasted. They grow us vertically (deeply).

2. Try not to plan and re-plan too many times before you just jump in and do.

3. Remember that you’ve actually already arrived somewhere important. Because whatever you do from here, you can do from here.

4. Embrace value. Look inside and find the value and meaning that is less easy to find externally. Write it down!

5. Invisible years are the wisdom-keepers. Find the pearl in them that others, often those closest to you, may not see. Write it down!

When tea is carefully brewed we say that it is ready and perfect to drink. And yet what has changed? it is still only leaves and water.

As we run through Life, it has a way of ‘steeping’ us, just like a unique and mysterious tea steeps in hot water. We are released from the rigidity of youth and become deeper, richer, more filled with a sort of wisdom that we could only intellectualize about in youth. Even so, when we are old we still ca not quite put our finger on what that is. We grow in both breadth and in depth. The first is recognizable to others by the distance we cover within a certain speed, while the second happens when we appear to be standing still. Depth happens, even when the stillness is quite against our inner-achiever’s will. All we need do is look for it to find that we are, in fact, achieving while merely appearing to stand still. Only you will know if this is actually true for you. And if you find that it is, then dip it in gold and stand it on the mantel along with your other achievements.