Making Time For Yourself

In line with my last blog, in this one I want to ruminate around the topic of Time--time for yourself. Time has been called, "the 4th dimension" by some thinkers, but, at minimum, it seems to shrink or expand, not obeying any kind of "Natural Law." Individually, few of us feel like we have enough of it to do all we want to do.

Gaining time to explore oneself is something that has to be actively worked at, and, frequently, fought for. It is a concept in Western Culture that is grouped in with being selfish. If one is an adult member of a family, current Programming is to focus on one's children first, one's mate second, and one's self only if you are in some kind of therapy. It is not uncommon in today's world to only have "alone time" if one is in the bathroom, and for many, not even then, if there is only one bathroom.

If one is not currently "attached," much activity for many, is doing ones best to be actively involved doing things with friends, or in social situations of one kind or another. Alternatively, time is filled watching something on a box, or playing something on a box, or talking on a cell phone. The rest of our time is spent doing what needs to be done to earn enough money to live comfortably.

In today's world, this is "normal."

It is generally assumed that "our world," the one we personally inhabit, is the same as the world everyone else lives in. Each of us, wrapped up in our own world, spend little time thinking about other people's lives, let alone our own. The Native American saying, "Before we can truly understand another person, we must walk a mile in their moccasins. Before we can walk in another persons moccasins, we must first take off our own." The wisdom contained in this saying is profound.

If we do not comprehend what it is like to be ourselves, how can we "take if off"? And, as a result, the vast majority of individuals cannot begin to understand what it is like to live the life of another person.

There are, of course, many individuals in this society who have chosen to try to make their lives conscious to one degree or another. There are many who make an effort to not judge other people. as well.

Only by making time for being alone with oneself, can you hope to begin to learn who you have become up to this point, and what the life you are living is really like. In prior blogs I have talked about the importance of knowing what you believe. Most individuals living in "normal" worlds are running on "automatic"; they are unconscious, and do not want to become conscious.

Only by carving out some time in the day for yourself, can you begin to gain perspective on just what kind of world you, personally, live in. As this is the beginning of a New Year, you may be able to achieve this time by building in a new habit as a rationale for it--time to write in a journal, time to meditate, time to exercise, time to take a walk, etc.

With that advice, I end this blog.

Shirley Gallup