“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” -Mother Theresa
Time is precious. It’s not something we can physically hold on to or see or taste. It’s almost like it’s invisible and you can’t catch it, like a ghost or a cloud.
How often do you make time for yourself and commit to the time you’ve allowed? The phrase “I don’t have enough time” is said over and over again that it gets lost in the wind.
The truth is we do have time but we have to make the most of it, even if it’s only 15 or 30 minutes. If you take 15 minutes of your time and only focus on one thing or even nothing- it will feel longer. That’s what it feels like when meditating. If you sit for 5 minutes in silence you’ll realize how long 5 minutes can be when you just sit, breathe, and try to relax.
As humans we lead busy lives and are always on the go. Technology has made it even worse where you receive emails, notifications, texts not only on your phone but in your car or even on your watch. Now you’re tied to what’s happening around you but not right in front of you. Car accidents happen when worrying about what’s going on somewhere else because of the update you receive due to technology and not focusing on the present moment.
Then when we take time for ourselves to exercise, go on a walk, cook dinner, we might still be distracted. And when we are distracted we don’t receive the maximum benefit; stress creeps in, the workout is cut short, dinner in the oven might burn, etc. When we allow ourselves to have time we should relish the present moment and enjoy it as much as we can. That could mean closing the door when exercising in a separate room at home and silencing the electronics or going on a walk in the neighborhood without your phone (while being safe and aware), and doing all of your preparations for dinner before starting.
Sometimes emergencies occur and force you to leave this time set aside but hopefully it’s for true emergencies- your child is sick at school and you need to pick them up, your daughter is having a baby and on the way to the hospital, your husband’s car broke down. Those are good reasons to be pulled away from the precious time you set aside but otherwise the goal should be to enjoy this 15 or 30 minutes or even an hour you’ve set aside. The phone can wait, along with the emails, texts, social media alerts, sports and weather reports. They’ll be there when you are done, the world keeps turning but do you keep it from moving too fast? Because when you take the time for yourself and go on that 30 minute walk without any distraction, you’ll find that your gift is more time and that time in fact slows down.