Improve Your Quality of Life

Do any of you ever feel as if you are on an increasingly crazy treadmill of busy busy busy? I know I do. My iPhone has made me possible to reach, wherever I am, by text, phone call or email. And I find that the more connected I am, the more saturated I am by stimuli – people, appointments, rush rush rush.

Increasingly, the evenings I spent simply knitting quietly while watching a movie or listening to music are a thing of the past. I not only miss those evenings, I need them. I used to bring my knitting to work and take breaks with my bamboo knitting needles, doing some quiet handwork. It was peaceful, even if for a few moments. Not anymore.

And it’s not just me – it seems that life has sped up for everybody. When I was growing up, my dad used to bemoan the loss of the simplicity of the time he grew up – the ’50s – and complained about our complicated lifestyles of today. Typically, being a teenager, I found his complaints silly. Come on, dad! Bigger, better, faster, more!

But over time, I have found that he is correct. Things have changed. When I was a kid, there was one phone in the house and it had a seven foot curly cord and you had to stand there to chat. There were no text messages. No Facebook. No cell phone reception to complain about. If you couldn’t get ahold of someone at home, you really couldn’t get ahold of them at all. You’d have to wait.

What have we lost in translation, I wonder, when we can’t slow down? Writing time is certainly something one needs to do alone, quietly and slowly. Do you manage to grab enough time to do it? And when you “grab” that time do you feel a bit rushed?

Our relationship with time has changed from our being able to master time (calendars, sundials, harvest moons and astronomy) to time mastering us. How many times do you glance up at the clock each day to measure either what you have not yet done or where you need to be next? Glancing at the clock rips one out of the present moment and speeds one toward the future. Running madly, we chase the rabbit around the track with blinders on. A “productive day” can never include lying on your back and staring at the clouds.

If there’s one thing my brother’s death has taught me, it is to be grateful for the quotidien pleasures and moments of daily life, for they are multitude if not “important.” I notice the quality of the golden California sunlight and the way it washes over the cafe table I’m sharing with a friend. I notice the tall palm trees with their Dr. Seuss manes. I notice the moon and the phase it’s in. I love to hear my neighbors as I walk down the street: dishes clinking, laughter floating, the occasional sharp yelp. And I’m so grateful to be here in it, part of life, one with it, observing it. There is nothing else that life is, really, except being present in it. There are no expectations, there are no magic answers or HUGE MOMENTS to work toward. We only have each day, unto itself. I’m 100% positive that if he could turn back the clock and make a different decision, my brother would savor the rich banquet of sensations and feelings that each day has to offer rather than rushing from one thing to the next.

How present are you in your life? Have you caught the bigger, better, faster, more bug? If you have, how do find time to write and when you write, how do you be totally present in that quiet writing time? For some, shifting gears into writing time can be a lengthy process. Primarily because it takes awhile to still the hamster-wheel noises of our minds enough to listen to the muse. And it truly takes quiet to do that.

Remember when, if someone was late and you were meeting them in a public place, you’d just sit and watch the people go by? It was a quiet pleasure; you weren’t quite lonely, because someone was soon coming, but you had a window to observe the day going by. The way people walk. The sounds of the traffic and the birds. The shapes of the clouds, the touch of the wind on your cheek. But now, our cell phones are our instant friend. We text, we check our emails, we check weather reports – anything but sit there alone, quietly.

I am reading a book right now, In Praise of Slowness, that is really having an impact on me. It’s a good read, and I recommend it. And today a friend sent me a lovely video that I wanted to share with you guys. Not only because of the beautiful, healing message but also, when you watch it, listen to the quality and cadence of the writing.
How to be Alone

Have a good day. A truly GOOD day.