Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Taking the Time

"The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it." Sydney J. Harris

If we don't relax once in a while we're making a statement. What we're saying is we don't have time to live well. To take care of ourselves. To enjoy life.

Often I'm around those who say they don't have time to work out, to meditate, to eat right, to read a book.

They're busily engaged in the next thing, the newest distraction. Or they stay immersed with work to avoid being present with themselves.

However, most find time to be on Facebook. Or to play video games. Or perhaps veg in front of the television for hours on end. Or else a lot of time looking at their devices.

I once made a suggestion to someone who watched TV about four hours a day - but said he didn't have time to work out. And the suggestion was that he cut an hour or two out of that time for the gym. But he said he was "too tired" to do that after working all day.

Some look at distraction as relaxing. But distraction is really just a way to avoid being with ourselves.

A better way to relax might be a walk in the park. Maybe watching a sunset, or clouds drifting by. Maybe talking face-to-face with loved ones.

None of us on our deathbed will say that we wished we'd spent more time watching TV. Or visiting Facebook. Or playing video games. Or being at the office.

Hospice workers say the dying often wished they'd have spent more time with their loved ones.

Something to think about when we say we "don't have time.”

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