Mile Marker 2 Part 3: Time is worth more than money.
Time is the currency of your life, so how are you going to spend it?
Painting: Casting, Number Two by Winslow Homer
Wanting more is the message of the masses but contentment with less is the salve of the soul. Contentment with less will free up space for you to slow down.
Slowing down goes against the grain. It means quality work, not quantity work. It means contentment with smaller, not bigger. It means cutting distractions, putting down the phone, turning off the screens. It means rejecting fast food, fast fashion, fast consumption.
It means time to breathe, reflect. Time to simmer thoughts. Time to let projects evolve thoughtfully. Time to listen to your gut. Time to discover.
Here is a summary of how you may live your life fast vs slow—your task it to figure out where you want to start slowing down.
If you choose to slow down with intention, the next step is to examine the patterns of your life. Ask yourself whether or not there is some place in your deepest soul that is asking you to step on the brakes. What are you trading your busy, distracted life for? Does your daily life reflect your values?
What aspect of your life would you like to pare down? What is preventing you from doing it? I understand that young families have special challenges with this mile marker. Our society has evolved to the point at which both parents must work to meet expenses. Add to that the extracurricular activities our children are involved in plus all the daily chores and choices we must make—none of which include just sitting and spacing out.
There are radical answers for that, but if you are just looking to get some precious me-time that we all need so desperately, I would recommend journaling your days for a week or two. Sketch out how the blocks of your days are spent, so you can see if there are low-value activities that are absorbing too much of your life energy. Is social media taking up too much life energy? Is saying “yes” too often taking up too much life energy? Are “addictions” to any number of things—food, video games, shopping—taking up too much life energy? Eliminate those time sucks and you’ll find some time for your slower and more intentional life. Or, go the more radical route and make more major changes to your employment situation and lifestyle.
Always remember that every hour of your days, weeks, and years is paid for with your life, so you might as well fight to make sure most of it is spent on what you truly value.
An appropriate parable to close with:
One day a fisherman was sitting by his boat while playing with his child on a beautiful beach; his fishing pole resting against the boat.
A wealthy businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. Curious and horrified at the sight of the fisherman wasting the day, the businessman asked, "Why aren't you out fishing?"
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "Because I already caught enough fish for one day."
The businessman followed, "Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with them?" replied the fisherman.
"You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me."
"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman.
"Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life."
The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
Next Mile Marker: Embracing Beauty as Fundamental: Understanding why beauty is a need-to-have and not just a nice-to-have, and how slowing down will enable you take notice