Time to Rest

We live during very fast times - insta-satisfaction - no sacrifice, no patience, no time. It is very easy to get caught up in this life's 'rat-race'; in fact if one decides to take time to themselves, others frown upon them and tell them that they are wasting time. How can we waste time really? Life is the longest thing we have to experience and although we are living on borrowed time, if we speed through life, will we really be able to enjoy, experience and be stimulated. Work is important, and it is wonderful to be ambitious and proactive, but it is also equally important to take time to rest, to take time to know thyself and to just be.

Lulls don't mean failure, it only means we are regenerating and re-booting before our next burst of inspiration takes flight. Life shouldn't be a race. No-one should dictate how quickly you should perform or journey through your path in life. Your path, your journey, is unique and significant to only you. Dance to your own tune. Don't rush through it. Feel it, cherish it, be at peace with it. 

It is funny how fast we move about like little ants, rushing for that money, to buy things, more and more things to fill our little ant nests. We don't see what is right in front of us. The beauty, the nature, the architecture, the sites and sounds and beautiful souls right within our reach. Instead we spend time in traffic, whizzing to meetings, and picking up 'over-time' to feel alive or purposeful. Just being, sitting quietly, contemplating and dreaming are also perfectly acceptable ways to be alive and learn purpose.

Don't let your life pass you by…slow down sometimes…you may gain a new perspective…

Why are we so afraid to be silent and spend time with ourselves? If we don't make status updates or keep our schedules full, will we cease to exist? Being here...now...is tremendously precious...take some time to recognize it. :))

I'll leave you with some lovely quotes by one of my favourite authors Kahlil Gibran that may make these thoughts resonate deeper within you:

"…Of Time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing….Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness…"

"…Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower, but it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee…For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life…And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love…"

"…We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair…"

Adapt

It’s not always easy adapting to change; we humans hate it immensely. To us it’s like diving into a pot of hot water; we much rather prefer a subtle change of temperature. Because change into the unknown; we always want gloves and flashlights; we always want to be prepared. If life was like that; then we’d never be able to call it an ‘adventure’; and how boring life would be indeed.

All flights were full that day, so I’d have to take the ferry to get to the other island. Flying is no problem for me; you’re in, you’re out, you sleep during the turbulence – story of my life; but the ferry, well…not so much; especially if you didn’t have good company or a good book. I was up at the crack of dawn, pushing with people who wanted to get on and get the BEST seats. And ‘for your information’ - all the seats on the ferry are ‘the same’! :D Anyway, I got on and saw a seat next to a man, he was reading and quiet; I thought GREAT; it won’t be a rambunctious 2 hours. I did a double-take, and the man I happened to sit next to was actually the father of my first ‘crush’; I was but a young lass, of only 13. And now I’d sit next to the father of the acolyte I’d stare at for what seemed like hours instead of listening to what the priest was saying in church! Could it really be!? J

I didn’t get too much news about what his son was up to now; but instead I got a world of inspiration and life lessons that all of you my readers I’m sure can benefit from. Going with the flow of the Universe! He said that in life we must learn to be adaptable creatures, we must be flexible and bend like trees do in the wind. He said if we don’t go with God’s purpose for our lives, we will never learn what it is that he is trying to teach us. So stop asking “why me!?” And instead adapt to the change and accept whatever lesson, the Universe/God is trying to teach you. If you do not adapt then you will not gain ‘peace of mind’. And if you do not have a ‘peace of mind’ then you will never have happiness and more importantly never learn your lessons.

He also enlightened me to the fact that in life; we must be ourselves. Stop trying to be like everybody else! Stop comparing yourself with others! You are a unique individual with special desires placed in your heart for a reason; everyone has a different purpose and different lessons to learn while we are here; therefore BE YOU! He told me that he always loved Agriculture, he loved playing in the dirt and planting flowers and trees from a small boy, but his parents wanted him to study engineering. He gave up his dream and now that he is retired he is finally doing what his heart called him to do so many years before. He says that he beautifies that same church we all attended with lovely flowers form corner to corner. He said he learns a lot from nature also that we can learn a lot from too; back to the ‘trees bending with the wind’; if they fought against the wind then they would easily break. We need to be flexible with the flow of the Universe and trust that it is for the BEST outcome.

“Life is complex simultaneous equations with many variables!” he said; I suppose going off the path for a bit didn’t harm him one bit; but it was ‘being himself’ and taking the journey of his heart, trusting without knowing that brought him ‘peace of mind’ and ultimately happiness! Our lessons today – be adaptable in life, be you, and for heaven’s sake pay attention to the priest and not the young acolyte carrying the candles! Ha ha! :D

Bless-up darlings,

Jair J