Press Pause – Audience Participation

Following on from my last post about time and space, this post invites audience participation.

As you read the following sayings about time and space, consider how you personally arrange your time and space.

We can …

• save time – by being quicker than expected with a task, or by finding a shortcut for something, for someone … eg. a backroad – which is physical space; or in the way we complete a task

• save space – by rearranging physical space (decluttering), ‘rearranging’ mental space (mental decluttering: changing approaches and attitudes to time monsters, the things that eat up our time) … it’s about allowing the things that really matter to us to be the things that we place in and around us.

We can …

• use time – wisely, unwisely … using time unwisely indicates that there are good and bad choices about a concept that is either linear – so can’t be altered in the amount we can consume – or not – so it is everpresent and endless and therefore good and bad choices about its consumption is a paradox.

• use space (both physical and mental) – effectively, less effectively, ineffectively …

We can …

• make time and space – for someone, for something … especially for people and things we enjoy: brings to mind the saying, “It’s not how much time you have, it’s what you do with that time that matters”.

We can …

• offer time – to someone … for people in need, to help someone out (especially someone who’s struggling).

• offer space – to someone,; allowing them to build healing, creative space; for an event … this implies generosity and giving of oneself willingly, even making a small sacrifice for the benefit of others (although making a choice to be kind to others in need does not have to be a sacrifice: it depends on whether you feel deprived from that, in which case it isn’t considered a CHOICE as much as an OBLIGATION.)

We can …

• spend time – on an activity, with someone … yet we can’t/don’t spend space

We can …

• kill time – when (chronological) time seems endless, but we are not at rest within that time … yet we can’t/don’t kill space

We can …

• waste time – on an activity which is mundane, repetitive; on someone whose company we don’t enjoy or appreciate …

• waste space – referring to how space is used, and whether that is effective, less effective, ineffective.

• It’s a huge insult to call a person a waste of space!

Detrimental connotations imply that it’s not a good or positive thing to waste time or space, it indicates inefficiency (and in our busy world efficiency is a valuable commodity). The next time you’re stuck in a queue or a traffic jam, or are locked in a meeting *wasting* ‘hours of your life you’ll never get back again’, recognise it for what it is – the Universe’s gift of time for you, a push on the pause button: enjoy the stillness within that moment.

Audience Participation: Quiz

How do you answer these questions?

1a. When I have a week’s holiday, I have …

• only a week
• a full week

1b. When I am busy, I have …

• no time to rest within the busyness
• time to rest/pause/refresh within the busyness

Your answers indicate how you approach your time monsters/time constraints/time use. We can reframe our attitudes and approaches.

2. Which of these statements describe(s) you best?

• I have time for my hobbies.
• I make time for my hobbies.
• I ‘live in the now’.
• I am content with how I use/spend my time.

Did you answer yes / no / mostly / sometimes?

What do you feel you need to change, in order to achieve a resounding ‘yes’ to each and every one of these statements?

May you find time to rest in the busyness of your life.

May you find the pause button when you need it.