The Art of Time
Time and You
“You still have enough time.”
“You are still young.”
Children who have been promised a childhood, fight cancer, and the elderly who are supposed to be slower and more fragile, dance in their 100s as if they’re in their 20s.
These are not “individual cases” that should be overlooked because who said you won’t be one of them? You exclude yourself from what your heart does not want to perceive, turning your back on life, wondering why you suffer. Your eyes wander to the place called yourself and silent tears flow to an aching heart. A strong feeling pushes your head towards the ground, won’t let you stand up when the alarm goes off, makes your mind and body feel glued to a bed that means nothing to your soul.
This suffering is left at your feet because you are not everything you could be, and you know it.
Jordan Peterson
Time and Energy
Time and energy are two components that work together, like paintbrushes and paint that form a piece of art, which in return is the life you decide to create.
If your time is over when your energy still is vibrant, it’s the ultimate death.
Your paintbrushes are falling apart but you still have lots of paint left.
If your energy is over when you still have time, it’s a vegetative life.
You’re running out of paint but there are still plenty of unused paintbrushes left.
Your canvas is half empty and your eyes stare at the blank spaces. It aches inside your heart and gives a feeling of uneasiness and frustration.
The question I want to ask you is:
What are you doing with your brushes to keep them from breaking and how are you treating your paint to prevent it from drying out or going to waste?
How do you want to use your time and energy?
Does it have any value to you?
What kind of value?
These questions can only be answered by your own definitions, within the value structure that you’ve created for yourself.
Time and Intention
Are you using your time intentionally?
This does not count for productivity, but were you paying attention to how you used your time?
Did you intentionally sit down and watch those episodes of your favorite series?
Did you intentionally go to the gym to work on yourself?
Did you intentionally sit down and sort your thoughts?
You see, using your time intentionally does not mean hustling until it becomes too much, only to be able to say “I’ve put my time to use”. It’s about actively dedicating it to something that makes you feel present, that makes you feel alive and teaches you to be grateful for what you have and who you are.
We beat ourselves up when we struggle or fail to be intentional but the solution is to tweak the system, our own system. It does not lie in beating yourself up for being human but looking for a different color shade that could change the whole painting.
If your life isn’t everything it could be, you could ask yourself: “Well what would happen if you just stop wasting the opportunities, that are in front of you?
Jordan Peterson
Time and Management
This may sound very dry, but managing your time via timeblocking etc. will allow you to use the time you were given in a way that makes space for people, activities and moments that give you a feeling of being present and alive.
It is so easy to slip into the trap of living in an imaginary future rather than in the present.
But let me ask you: Do you want to live somewhere, where you aren’t? How can you live if you can’t live now?
The future is never guaranteed and as much of a blessing it is that we humans are capable of planning our future, if we forget to sometimes take a step back and devote our time to a truly fulfilling life, we end up in a never-satisfactory loop. That’s where time management can help to snap out of it and reach for life itself. That’s where you are holding your paintbrush between your fingers, dip it in paint and create your piece of art.
You decide what defines your time. But remember, there is no eternal amount of it and therefore be grateful for it. Use it and make your best of it. One day this body of yours will perish but before that, you have a reason to be here, so use it. Take up space. Take your time into your own hands.