Quiet Time

We all lead ridiculously busy lives, running from here to there with barely enough room to breathe. For most of us, the start of the day is a jangling alarm, or, perhaps one that plays a soothing tune. The point is that it drags us from sleep before we're ready to move into the workaday world. From there it's a quick shower, breakfast on the run (or no breakfast at all) and a day that we modulate from our cars, desk chairs and smart phones.

One side-bar element of our rushed lives is that they don't really give us time to think about who we are, what we're doing, or where our lives are heading. In many ways, we're like those hamsters running on their wheels and getting nowhere fast. I had a conversation with my dental hygienist this morning where she was bemoaning the coming winter season. She told me she'd planned to take a backpacking trip but hadn't managed to work it in all summer. When I asked why, she had lots of excuses, most of which revolved around work. She's only twenty-nine. She probably has lots of time to backpack. Or, maybe she doesn't. Right now she and her young husband are healthy. One never knows what next year will bring. You can't bank on having infinite time.

One thing I will say to you is that when you're eighty years old, you will not regret not working more. However, you may well regret the things you passed up in favor of work. I know I wish I'd spent more time at my children's schools, more time chatting with friends, more time with my husband. Instead, like many of you, I spent years--many of which I scarcely remember--chained to my desk. When I did get home, I'd often be so tired it would take a gargantuan effort to even talk to my family, let alone think about my own needs. I'm not very proud of those years.

As a beginning, carve out an hour for yourself every day. Yes, an entire hour. What finally worked for me was setting my clock for five A.M. I started using the hour from five to six several years ago to meditate. But, you could use that time for anything from exercise to journaling. The point is that it's your time to be with you. It's an opportunity to actually jump off that treadmill (or hamster wheel) for long enough to take stock of your life. And, if my early morning time doesn't work for you, use your lunch hour, or that first hour when you get off work.

When you constantly surround yourself with friends and family, you lose something very precious: true knowledge of yourself. Don't be afraid to look within. Finding your own, true self and becoming comfortable with him/her is the beginning of living honestly.