I’ve been thinking a lot about the culture of ‘busy’ that’s so prevalent in this country. Last week, I mentioned I had a moment of panic as I planned my schedule. Despite the fact that my younger kids are officially out of school for the summer, and I am currently wearing a swim suit (my warm weather, work from home attire) the pace of life is picking up. With the world opening back up, so too are the demands on our time.
After yoga this morning, I was chatting with the instructor who indicated she was feeling similar contradictory emotions. We’re grateful we can be with the people we love and do the things we enjoy again, but also wary of our time filling to capacity. COVID gave us permission to slow down. We didn’t have a choice. We didn’t have to feel guilty for staying home in our pajamas. We could blame the stress of COVID if we were less than productive in our work lives even though we had seemingly more time on our hands.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the idea of living intentionally, of choosing how I spend my time, has been on my mind. I think more about it when planning my schedule, and I’ve given myself permission to slow down or say no when I need to. My kids seem to do a better job with balancing their time and prioritizing. I remember when one of them was in high school and came home with a low B in one of his classes. He was perfectly capable of a higher grade, but when we questioned him, his response went something like this… “Mom, there are only so many hours in the day. I don’t need this class. I don’t want to do so poorly that it affects my ability to get into the school of my choice, but there are many other things, like my friends, my music, and my writing that I prefer to spend time on. Those are a priority.” Maybe he was on to something?
We don’t have to be busy every minute of every day. We can have that cup of tea on the porch in the morning or that glass of wine on the deck in the afternoon. We can say yes to lunch with a friend or pack up and spend a Sunday at the beach. I know I am writing a lot about this, but it’s because I think something may have shifted in us as a culture post-COVID, and I’d like to see that shift last. Time is a precious and limited resource. I want to spend as much of it as I can on the things I believe are most important.
“Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.” – Michael LeBoeuf
In other news…
Speaking of the world opening up…I’ll be at Tampa Bay Comic Con from July 30th to August 1st! Along with my fellow sci-fi and fantasy pals, I’ll be signing books and moderating panels. If you’re in the area, stop in and say hello! More info to come.