It is the end of August. September is right around the corner and with it the end of summer for another year. As an adult, it amazes me that time flies by so quickly. I remember as a child that my summers seemed endless. My memories of that time include long days of tree climbing, bike riding, fresh food from the garden, and of course the usual chores of life on a farm in the summer.

Now summer flies by in the blink of an eye, barely different from any other season of the year except for the changing temperature when I go outside. I grew up on the land, attuned to the seasons and the changing cycles of light and warmth, growing and harvesting, working and resting. But somehow I’ve lost track of that in my current life. Instead my days are filled with more demands on my time, more tasks required, and more challenges to be faced and learned from.

Memory is of course always tinted with emotion – one way or the other. Mine are colored with a great deal of joy and excitement. The world was and is so interesting – and there is so much to see, to do, and to experience. For example, I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and have been spending most of my time either looking at a computer screen or attending networking events at hotels and restaurants.

I have said before that I need to change this, but for some reason, I have not. Resistance is an interesting experience. I know what I want to do, what I need to do, and yet I do not do it. Why not? Am I stuck in a rut? Am I afraid of the consequences? Do I somehow think I don’t deserve better? All these are valid questions – to which I do not have any valid answers. I only know that I have good intentions, and that those intentions generally slip quietly away without action as I struggle with the day-to-day requirements of my choices.

I am not complaining here – just observing the pattern of my life over the past year. It is not a pattern I am comfortable with – and it is not helping me achieve my goals, the ones I wrote about in my last post. So while I have goals and strategies and tasks; while I create plans and schedules and to-do lists; and while I have the best of intentions and a strong desire to change, nothing actually happens until I just break free of all my questions and take action.

So today is a day of “just do it”. I have a plan and a schedule and a list of things that must be accomplished. And while I will make progress on all those things, I will also take time to go outside and appreciate these final days of August in the year 2010. I will rejoice in the beauty that surrounds me. And I will choose to take action on those things that are truly important to me – because in the end, I do not want to look back over my life and say “it could have been so much more.” Step back, take stock, make a new choice, and take action in alignment with that choice. And don’t forget to – enjoy!