Time. Time is such a precious commodity. Use it wisely.
Some people interpret this by trying to be as (highly) efficient & effective as possible or highly productive. But do we truly always have to be busy, to be able to use time wisely? What does time mean to you?
My interpretation of ‘using time wisely’ is also to take time to unwind, to be still, to observe, to do nothing at all.
A century and a half ago, Kierkegaard argued that our impulse to escape the present by keeping ourselves busy is our greatest source of unhappiness. A century later, Susan Sontag wrote in her diary about the creative purpose of boredom. Yet nowadays so many of us are not able to ‘do nothing’ and consider that waste of time and ‘inefficient’. I have read many studies in which boredom in children is encouraged. Boredom creates creativity. However, many people relate boredom with the opposite of creativity and go to great lengths to find escape routes. The art of stillness is one that not all of us are comfortable with, but it’s of utmost importance to be able to appreciate life and live it to the utmost: to lead a happy life. As the eloquent novelist and traveller Pico Ayer points out in his book The Art of Stillness:
“To sit still long enough to find out what moves you most, to recall where your truest happiness lies and to remember that sometimes making a living and making a life point in different directions.”
Sitting still, either indoors or outdoors, allows me to make sense of my experiences in life and allows me to enjoy the small pleasures too. To sit still and watch the clouds float past, feel the breeze on my body (which is what I am currently experiencing…sitting outdoors typing this blog).
This description, below, of Julia Baird’s book made me want to sit still and ‘do nothing’ and investigate. This very investigation has made me make some drastic decisions as of late and has propelled me on a new career path: that of STEMeducator & writer.
A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times.
Goodreads
This time, the blogpost is short and to wrap up I want to leave you with some TIME quotes. May it be a source of inspiration for some investigative time. Sit back & reflect. Allow your mind to wander. Take your time.
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. Patience is also a form of action
Auguste Rodin (sculptor)
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.
Albert Einstein (physicist)
We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams. [and this is what some writers, like me, use to write stories]
Jeremy Irons (actor)
Time is like a handful of sand—the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers.
Henry David Thoreau (naturalist)
Shakti Hannie 