I read once a few years ago that Charlie Peacock’s wife told him that he was so busy that he wouldn’t be able to handle something bad if it happened or appreciate something good that came his way. He took this as his cue to slow down and do less.
In the past few months, I have done the same – some because of the circumstances of life and some because I am trying to make a conscious choice to spend time on the things I love.
Yesterday, I got to see this play out so wonderfully. I met a friend for lunch, and then, because we were having such a good time, we got coffee. Then, we drove to town and hung out, had dinner, saw a movie (by the way, I don’t recommend The Eagle unless you’d like lessons in what not to do with what could be a fairly successful action film). It was lovely to just have the space to really enjoy the day.
If I was still teaching five classes or over-committed in activities, I might have (probably would have) made the same choice to do all of these things, but I would have felt the ever-present twinge of guilt that I wasn’t grading or researching or planning. Yesterday, I felt none of that and was able to fall completely into the day. It felt amazing.
So today, what can you pare out of your life to give yourself more time to just live in the moment? What can go – a duty someone else can take on, one less committee at work, one less activity that your kids won’t really miss? Let it go and live.