{"id":9783,"date":"2015-01-14T17:07:04","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T22:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=9783"},"modified":"2015-01-14T17:07:04","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T22:07:04","slug":"taking-time-by-the-throat-if-necessary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/01\/taking-time-by-the-throat-if-necessary.html","title":{"rendered":"taking time (by the throat, if necessary)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tea<\/a>It hasn’t been a hectic day, but it’s had its moments. Lots of email catch-up, including depressing stuff like querying publishers who should \u00a0have LOVED my work, and snapped it up months ago! Sigh.<\/p>\n

There’s also the ongoing sloggery of homemaking (such a much nicer, more accurate word than housekeeping!). Laundry, dishes, straightening, changing beds, etc. Not to mention feeding the birds, the dogs, more etc.<\/p>\n

But in the middle of all our work, every day, we need to take time. I use the verb ‘take’ intentionally: it’s not a gentle verb. Nor is time a gentle master;\u00a0it masters most of us. Certainly me! I find myself begrudging the 20 minutes of my meditation, 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. The 5 minutes to fill the bird feeders, the half-hour it takes to mop so the white kitchen floor shows its true colour. And I\u2019m retired!<\/p>\n

My explanation is that we didn’t evolve to be nearly so darn busy, so it takes a LOT of work to stay on top of our contemporary lives. In my case, it takes 2 calendars, 3 electronic devices, AND a journal. Oh, and patience. As much patience (because things often\u00a0don’t<\/em> work) as effort.<\/p>\n

The tea & palmier<\/a> cookie\u00a0fuel\u00a0an absolutely necessary break, a ‘taking’ of time. Just for me. Yes, I spent part of it on this post. But I also fiddled w\/ my new computer, learning how to change it from the default American spelling to the British lexicon of my childhood. And I listened, for a moment, to the call of an unknown bird outside, wondering if it was the yellow-rumped warbler<\/a> we identified the day before yesterday. Then I had to look up the call, of course!<\/p>\n

\"via<\/a>
via google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The writer in me knows how critical time is. How this taking out of my daily drudgery — however much I try to embrace it — is critical for me to breathe, to flourish. But I suspect most of you reading feel more than a little guilty about any time just for you. And yet, how else will you relax?\u00a0How will you be able to hear what’s happening outside your small sphere of business?<\/p>\n

Just yesterday I considered the following question:\u00a0what would you create if you knew it would last a very long time?\u00a0<\/em>Here’s the catch: anything creative requires a hefty investment of time. I think making space in the day for a cup of tea (or coffee, or cocoa) and a quick bite (I recommend French palmier cookies!) just to begin thinking about it. It’s a start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It hasn’t been a hectic day, but it’s had its moments. Lots of email catch-up, including depressing stuff like querying publishers who should \u00a0have LOVED my work, and snapped it up months ago! Sigh. There’s also the ongoing sloggery of homemaking (such a much nicer, more accurate word than housekeeping!). Laundry, dishes, straightening, changing beds,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,594],"tags":[11,1181,1187,262,932,1182,933],"class_list":["post-9783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tea","category-time","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-taking-time","tag-tea","tag-yellow-rumped-warbler"],"yoast_head":"\ntaking time (by the throat, if necessary) - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It hasn't been a hectic day, but it's had its moments. 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