It’s true that living in modern times in North America has many advantages for us. We don’t have to walk to the river to beat our clothes clean against rocks. Heck, we don’t even have to run them through a ringer anymore. (if you don’t know what that is…go ask your grandma, but bring a cuppa because it will be a long story) Even just in my lifetime I can’t believe how much the technology of a phone has evolved. Not to date myself, but when I was a kid we had 1 phone in the house and it was connected to the wall. So any conversations you wanted to have were in the kitchen, where everyone else could hear. And the phone was only good for calls. We couldn’t use it as an alarm to wake up. We couldn’t check on a restaurant menu or listen to music. Just calls and that’s it….not even call waiting. Look at us now! I’ll bet your cellphone has apps you don’t even know how to use! (I know mine does)
But the flip side of all this super-fab technology is that we are never truly “off”. Work can call, text, email send files, video chats all hours of the day and night. And when you aren’t working, well there’s the house that needs your attention, and the bills. And while you don’t need to walk to the river anymore, the clothes still aren’t going to clean themselves.
Then we have the babies and the fur babies. Sheesh…I’m getting tired just thinking about all the responsibilities of the modern person. The truth is we get so busy with trying to manage our day-to-day responsibilities that we end up on the bottom of our own list! Tell me if I’m wrong, but have you found that sometimes your life is so busy with being a grown up that you forget how to just play?
No matter how long you live…life is still short. No matter how important or unimportant you feel in the world, we still only get the same number of hours per day. No less and no more than anyone else. So please take some of that time for yourself to do something you love, just because you love it. Not because it fits into your strategies or because it allows you to check off a box.
Doing something that is fun, just because you love it, in as little as 30 minutes a day can have a dramatic effect on your overall health and happiness. Taking just a bit of time each day for yourself will help you to see life in a more balanced perspective, and will help you to be a better you. (if you can score more than 30 minutes from time to time)
Do I still need to convince you? Ok, consider this: Have you ever flown in a plane before? If you have…or even if you haven’t but you’ve seen a movie with a plane in it, then you know that passengers are always told that if the oxygen masks drop; you need to put on yours before helping the people around you. So imagine what brings you joy as your oxygen mask. You can’t help others, or be a good parent, coworker, friend, or spouse if you can’t breathe. You’ll collapse. So you got to help yourself first. Consider the thing you love as your oxygen mask. Whether it’s colouring, crafting, dancing, or a good glass of wine and a book…this is your oxygen of life. It might seem frivolous, but the truth is you need it. When you have some happiness in life, it will help you to feel more vibrant, find your life more meaningful, and even help reduce your stress responses in other parts of your life. So when you take your grown up time out, and that little voice in your head calls you selfish…tell it to zip it.
You need this time, and you deserve this time and you earned this time. So enjoy it!
Barbara Ford is an internationally recognized Spiritual Advisor, Holistic Practitioner & Paranormal Expert. She has been featured in magazines, a book, a documentary, many TV Shows book for her excellent work. Barbara is also a published author. To book a consultation or a session please call 289-891-7711