Too many people construct a life out of defined lines, stark contrasts, and things boxed into place. Bills and work and family and the constant barrage of expectations all come together to build a life that is more manufactured and processed than the take out food that gets them through their day because they have no time. Absolutely no time! There is no time for anything, just enough time to get through everything with nothing left over for things that could have been, should have been, will be someday when they have energy to care about anything. Someday there will be time for the good things. Please let me still be able to enjoy myself when that time comes because right now I have no time and less energy to deal with it.
Sound familiar? It’s like a coloring book form of life. All the outlines are there waiting for someone to fill them which is such a weird thing since this type of life adamantly refuses to admit that there is any room for anything other than the constant doing, the constant needing, the constant moving forward, getting through it, getting it done of things. But everyone who lives this type of life knows that something is missing. That this isn’t life, only a meagre form of living. Of course, to stop all that going and doing seems impossible because not doing would grind everything to a halt and the world would stop turning. *sigh*
But what if the doing didn’t have to stop? I mean, the outlines are already there, the picture is already on the page, all that needs to be done is to color it in. Like adding a smile and a kind word to the barista’s tip when you get your coffee? Putting one small effort into remembering their name fosters connection and next time you might find they remember yours and smile back. Or what about, instead of working through lunch or eating somewhere that makes you unhappy, you find a place that makes you feel good like a quiet room with a view or the foyer of the office building next door or the park bench across the street? Instead of rushing from the office to the errands, make your first stop somewhere that is just for you, like spending 10 minutes at the park with your feet on the grass. Or having meditation cds in the car so you can be supporting your inner life while in traffic.
There are a million ways to color in the day without disrupting everything. Need to work on a project? Take yourself somewhere you like to be and work on it there. A coffee shop, library, university campus, pub, park, or a living room floor with lots of pillows can do wonders for your productivity and state of mind all at the same time. No time to be creative? Start gathering inspiration for what you’d like to be making, then nix some of that TV or brainless time and create instead. Using a different part of the brain is just as relaxing and you’ll be filling your life in with color rather than beige or grey. You are the architect of your own story. Don’t wait until it’s too late to live in glorious Technicolor.