Rich with Time and Peace of Mind
Happy
New Year! I hope that you receive many blessings, much happiness, and good
health in 2011.
If
there’s one thing that I heard over and over again this past year, it’s “I
don’t have enough time.” Many of our days pass like this: We wake up, grab a
quick breakfast, sit in traffic jams, and spend the majority of the day at
work. We often work through our lunch breaks or spend that time running
errands. Then we sit in more traffic, and arrive home tired, hungry, and low on
patience and energy for our loved ones. Weekends are spent on more errands,
catching up with bills, household chores, etc., and then it’s time to start the
work week all over. Even those who are retired can find themselves over-booked
and short on time.
Trying
to schedule time out with friends and family can be almost ridiculously
difficult, as everyone has such busy schedules. Advanced technology, which was
supposed to make our lives more simple, has actually taken more time out of our
days, as we now feel compelled to spend a lot of time catching up on e-mail, Facebook,
and surfing the web.
Wherever
you go, people are always rushing, and there’s a general feeling of being
perpetually behind, which leads to stress. And as we all know, stress is hazardous
to both your physical and mental health.
This
year I suggest a New Year’s resolution of taking back your free time. Become
rich with time and peace of mind! This is a gift to yourself that keeps
giving – to you as well as to your family and friends.
The
truth is that we actually have all the time we need. We just aren’t spending it
in a way that makes us feel healthy, whole, and connected (connected to our
fellow man – not the internet!).
What
are your priorities? Most of us need to work, eat, spend time on personal
relationships, get a little exercise, do something just because we love it, and
get a good night’s sleep. There are a lot of other things that we can fill our
time with that may not be necessary or important and may actually steal time
away from activities and people that nourish us. What are you spending time
doing that you don’t enjoy? Do you spend time with people who drain you rather
than sustain you? Do you spend more time with strangers, co-workers, and
committee members than with your own loved ones? Perhaps a change is in order.
If
you’re working, perhaps you are fortunate enough to have flex-time or are able
to adjust your schedule in a way that better serves you. If you are feeling
completely drained, will working fewer hours (and therefore having less money
but more time) work in your life? While you are working, remember to take care
of yourself. Get up from your desk and stretch frequently. Take a short walk. Drink
water to hydrate without over-dosing on coffee. Don’t work through lunch or try
to do several things while cramming down a sandwich – you need a real break in
the middle of the day, so take it. You will feel more refreshed and will have
more energy later. Get away from the computer and eat something healthy. Maybe
you have time to do something that nourishes you on your break – a short walk
outside, lunch-time yoga, or reading a chapter from a good book. Take your
vacation days – you need them!
What
about food? Food nourishes our bodies and our souls. As Donna Farhi says, “If
you don’t have time to sit down and eat at least one good meal a day, something
is very wrong with your life.” If you can share that meal with others, so much
the better. Figure out when you can do this. If dinner doesn’t work, can you
have a good breakfast or lunch with loved ones? Again, pay attention to your
food and tablemates. This is an excellent time to connect to each other. Can
you share cooking and shopping duties so one person doesn’t get exhausted from
bearing most of the work? Perhaps you can cook more on weekends to save time
during the week, or find a local place that makes healthy meals to go. If you
are dining solo, make the meal special – you are worth it! Sit at the table and
enjoy your meal.
Our
relationships with others are truly the sustenance of life. Swami Kripalu was
really surprised by how impatient we Americans are with our families. Part of
this is due to too much doing. When you finally get home from a hard day, do
you rush to check your email or do more work before connecting to your loved
ones? If so, this is just a habit that you can break. Set a limit on time spent
in front of the computer or TV and spend that time with real people. If you
need a few moments to unwind and transition to family time, do what you need to
do to ensure that you are more kind and patient.
This
brings me to exercise. Find something you love, and do it! Make sure to move,
stretch, and breathe deeply every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Set
aside at least one day per week where you can exercise for an hour. Make it a
priority -- no computer until you've exercised! Many of my yoga students tell me that their
families encourage them to do yoga because they are much happier when they get
home!
What
nourishes your soul? Do you like to read, write, dance, listen to music, paint,
kayak, volunteer, meditate? Whatever it is, it’s important. It’s vital to your
life, so make time for this activity. Perhaps you need a computer-free day to
fit this in. Or set aside a day where you don’t do anything else until you’ve
done this first. And don't forget the art of doing nothing -- downtime is as
necessary as air.
Finally,
we need a good night’s sleep. Many people say “I can sleep when I’m dead,” but
with that attitude you might get there faster than you’d like! Sleep goes
hand-in-hand with good health, so don’t skip it.
Most
of us are busy every single minute until we drop into bed in a state of
over-exhaustion that makes it hard to sleep. Start paying attention to how you
fill your time, and make sure that the important, life-sustaining activities
get done first. Make sure you aren't ignoring the real-live loved ones standing
in front of you in favor of the computer, television or too much work. Make
yourself rich with time and peace of mind!
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas