The past few weeks and weekends have been jam packed: classes are picking up, as are other activities, and Villanova happened to win the National Championship (sorry if this is the zillionth time you're hearing about this).
This past weekend, however, I found myself with not too much on my schedule, with lots of time on my hands. You would think that with all the craziness going on, I would have been relieved to have a chance to breathe. However, I found myself unsettled, not sure to do with myself.
I think this unsettling feeling speaks to the culture that we seem to live in today. We are constantly filling our lives with "things" and time commitments. When you ask someone how their life is, or how they're doing, a common response, at least in my experience, is: "I'm busy, but good."
Why is it that we feel the need to constantly overwhelm ourselves, with "busy"ness being seen as a means of success? Why do we never let ourselves rest?
Judging from my response to having so much time on my hands, it is clear that I too have been affected by this mindset. I am affected by this world, in which we are always moving, never stopping to look around and think about what's happening.
"Not having much to do" allowed me to reflect on this way of living my life. Is the constant busyness worth it?
Something my mom has learned from one of her teachers is the importance of "practicing the pause". I think that is my biggest take away on the ideas that this weekend brought up for me.
In a world where no one seems to slow down, it's important to remind ourselves that maybe, just maybe, slowing down, or greater than that, pausing, might be exactly what we need.
Practicing the pause can take its shape in many forms and ways. For some, it might be simply scheduling less, becoming less involved. While that may sound like a negative, what I mean is that practicing the pause allows us taking a step back and evaluating whether all the things in your life serve you, or whether they just fill your life with "stuff".
A few articles back, I wrote about time and priorities and I think practicing the pause correlates with this idea. Are your priorities in line with what will act as the greatest asset to your overall well being? What is it that you value in your life?
It's important to remember that sometimes, doing "nothing" may be the better alternative to half heartedly joining a club or spending your time doing something that drains your energy.
It's okay to have breaks in your schedule. It's okay not to be always on the go. Practicing the pause is a means of giving us a break, a time to reset and reboot, to realign with ourselves. Filling our lives to the brim with no time to rest may, in fact, disable us from bringing our best selves to whatever else we do. Instead, we ought to take time to align with ourselves first, so that we are better equipped to bring our whole selves to other aspects of our lives.
Spending this time, which may include time alone, does not indicate antisociability or an unwillingness to do things, but instead gives us a chance to breathe, to check in with ourselves. Journaling is always on my to do list, and today, a friend, who has also been feeling this way, reminded me the importance of expressing myself in this way. That is just one day I hope to begin practicing the pause more.
So, readers, I urge you not to shy away from having "too much" time, but embrace it and use the pause to fill your life with an interconnectedness and love.
Breathe, readers. Take time to look at the world around you. In the busyness of your everyday life, you might not realize what you're missing, or what your instinct might have to say.
Talk soon,
Sam
