What do I like most about not having to go to work? Having TIME. Lots of it. Time to explore things I'm interested in, time to be with people I'm interested in, time to do things slowly and leisurely, instead of feeling like life is being lived at the speed of...well, life. It gives a delicious feel to normal, everyday activities. Instead of wolfing down a fifteen-minute lunch, I can take a whole hour if I want. Instead of racing from one store to the next to get errands done in an hour, I can take a whole afternoon. I can play the guitar for ten minutes or three hours and not feel guilty. I can talk on the phone for as long as I want. I can enjoy a tv show without feeling like I just "wasted" all of my free time. The days unfold without rush, without stress but I'm still being very productive and experiencing a lot of variety in my days. What has changed is that things have slowed down and the result is I am so much more relaxed and sane and pleasant to be around! Life feels peaceful and I am so grateful.
However, in the midst of feeling like I have all the time in the world, I also feel the preciousness of time more now that I'm older. I want to spend more time with family, with friends, with activities I enjoy, because I know it is a limited time offer. My dad was saying yesterday that a ballplayer will get a five-year, multimillion dollar contract and he wonders if he will even be around by the time the contract is up (he's 85 now). How important it is to make time for what truly matters--none of us know how long we have on this ride called Earth. And as society often reminds us, no one on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time at the office! How will I take back some of this peace of mind when I return to my job?
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