BUSY-NESS is a pretty common affliction, so much so that for many of us, there is little time to pursue hobbies and personal interests. In the midst of the day’s flurry of meetings, errands, responsibilities in the office and the home, sometimes there is no time to pick up the guitar or the brush and canvas, or perhaps sit down to write a few lines of poetry—the things that are not very “practical” but are nevertheless good for the soul. Sometimes it’s exercise or workout that suffers, which is something absolutely necessary. But it is sometimes deprioritized in the name of work that pays or professional duties.
For those who keep a 9 to 5 routine, or are raising children alongside that full-time work responsibility, then it becomes more difficult to find time for the self. For single mothers or single fathers, it may be doubly hard. Where does one find the time to pursue the little personal dreams or take care of one’s own body and soul? These are valid questions because we all don’t want to wake up one day and realize that the time has gone, that
we are too old to actually do any of these things without the aches and pains. We don’t want to get to that day when it would hit us that we had set aside our dreams for things that were urgent and necessary.
At the same time, we know that if we don’t set aside the time for these things, they will never get done. It was the famous artist Pablo Picasso who said that we should only put off for tomorrow the things that we are willing to die having left undone. Pretty heavy statement, but it is truth.
Others would argue that given the kind of society we live in today, we only have time for the practical things, especially if one belongs to the lower end of the income spectrum. Time is not even enough to make a living, to provide food for the family. And yet there are people who firmly believe that we could survive on our own terms, if we would only intend it and would be persistent enough to do so. Making the decision to live our lives in this way is just the first step toward the realization of personal goals. The lives of many personalities who have done it before could serve as inspiration in this regard. We only need to say to ourselves: I am making the decision to give time to myself.
There are experts who have offered some concrete advice on how this could be done, whether we are working toward small or bigger life goals. We’ve all read that quote about changing our daily routine in order to change our lives: How you spend your day is how you spend your life. We could take it a little further to focus on each morning (only) such that we are able to take some steps every morning, before the rush of work and responsibilities begin, to slowly move toward the fulfillment of personal dreams.
I will share some of these tips next week.
To be continued