When I was trekking to Everest base camp, I kept asking my guide how long till the next place. He would always reply with, "It's a little bit up and a little bit down," and "A little bit up and a little bit down," however, I wasn't content with that answer. Then, I would ask him how much time would it take and he would say, "20, 30, 40 minutes" just like that. (I am writing it verbatim) The difference between 20-40 minutes meant nothing to him. I have a feeling that he had been caught out by many tourists in the past saying it was 20 minutes when it took them 50 minutes so he consequently was deliberately vague on the time frame. It could also be that time didn't mean anything to him.
This was quite difficult for me to understand to begin with, but getting to know the Sherpa way, I understood why time is not overly important to them. It is simply that it doesn’t make a difference. They know that they need to get to a certain destination in a day. It's never too far because they have acclimatisation considerations. They simply put one foot in front of the other until they get there. The western preoccupation with time must seem strange to them, Why is it so important? You are out walking on a beautiful day, when bad weather comes in, it becomes a consideration, but if the weather is nice, why not just enjoy the journey?
The time constraints that we put on ourselves are often overwhelming. Our days are organised within a minute, and we rarely allow time to just be. It is in the “being” that we truly get to know each other and ourselves. It's very important that we spend this time. Yogic philosophy teaches that we are striving for progress not perfection. When we work towards something even the smallest steps that we make towards the goal puts us in a better position than we were previously, we realise that we can improve exponentially when we do not put the pressure on ourselves to deliver in an all or nothing fashion. Some of us are all or nothing people. We need to be 100% dedicated to losing weight, getting fit, starting a business, having a family, planning a holiday and as soon as we take a step in the wrong direction, we give up completely. The idea of progress not perfection is acknowledging that every day, in every small thing we do in the right direction is progress. It does not need to be perfect for it to be making a difference in our lives. Like the Sherpa who knows that every step they're taking is getting them towards the destination, we can reflect on every good choice that we make rather than beating ourselves up with one bad choice and starting from scratch.
Look back on the year that you have had and celebrate the progress that you have made, I am sure there is more to celebrate than you are giving yourself credit for. Wishing you all more progress in 2022, and Happy New Year!