How many of us are truly happy with how we spend our time? We are
given 24 hours in a day. The majority of adults spend 8 of
those hours asleep, and 8 of them at work. The eight hours we have left
is our time to LIVE. Think about that for a minute. Only ONE THIRD of
our day is truly ours, and yet we spend it cleaning, cooking, shopping,
watching TV, Facebooking, daydreaming...
What
would happen if we asserted ourselves and dared to live purposefully?
If we made a concerted effort to make every moment count (or as many
moments as possible)? What if we consciously decided to do things we love, at least once daily? My life, for one, would look very
different.
* Less time online, and more time outdoors.
* Less time worrying, and more time focusing.
* Less time looking
at the TV and more time looking at my kids faces.
* Less time scrolling Facebook, and more time talking to people.
* Less time doing the things I "should" be doing, and more time doing what I love to do.
* Less time daydreaming of places to visit, and more time making it happen.
* Less time wishing my thighs were thinner, more time running.
It doesn't have to be a major life event, or upheaval. One of my light bulb moments came about a few weeks ago when I had the house to myself for a few hours during the day. My mum was at work and both kids were at school. I had a list of errands as long as my hand, and the housework needed doing. I sat down and purposefully asked myself "If I were to be completely selfish today and do something that would make me happy from the inside out, what would it be?" The answer wasn't drastic, or imaginative. It was "nothing". If I were to put aside the "should"s, and "ought to"s, what I would really LOVE to do, was nothing. So, that's what I did. I put my pajamas back on, I made some tea, and I vegged out on the couch with my favorite blanket and my favorite movie for 2 hours. It was amazing. I felt relaxed, content, happy, fulfilled, and self indulgent, and I loved every second of it. It also made me a lot more fun when the kids came home.
What if we could have those feelings every day? Realistically, none of us can live our every waking hour that way, but we CAN steal a few moments here and there each day.
Save the vacuuming for tomorrow, and use that ten minutes to plant some flowers. Skip the solo grocery shopping and go later in the evening, with your significant other, and afterwards eat ice cream in the parking lot together. Let your kids clean their rooms tomorrow, and instead go outside and lay on a blanket with them, watching the sun set. Instead of procrastinating over the housework, put on your favorite CD, blast it and get the housework done in record time, then take 15 minutes to sit on the deck, with the sun on your face, daydreaming. Instead of cooking a dinner that takes an hour to prepare, make sandwiches and have a picnic somewhere beautiful (no clean up). Take a vacation day off work and go somewhere you keep saying you're going to visit "one day".
Stop and look at rainbows, bask in each sunrise, play in the rain, and make snow angels in the snow. Make a list of all the things you love and write them in lipstick on the bathroom mirror! Enjoy it all and know that you are living purposefully. That you are enjoying living life, alive!
