A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".
Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.
Monday Mantra: Make time for the things you care about
Think back to a time when you found something you loved doing. That thing that made you feel pure and utter bliss, even in the most frustrating of times. That thing that brought you joy, that felt right in your bones.
Maybe you loved knitting. Or cooking. Or writing.
Painting. Singing. Sailing.
Acting.
Volunteering.
Traveling.
Close your eyes and tell me: What do you love? Now, tell me: Do you still make time for it?
The things that matter to you should be a part of your life. Have you lost them? Have you retained the spirit of pursuit of this thing that you love, whatever it may be?
My mom used to paint as a young adult. Landscapes, vases with flowers, animals. This was her passion. But as she got older, and as life got more complicated, she let it go. Since retiring, she's rekindled her love of art. She enrolled in a local community college course and has been taking it for almost a decade now. The same class, over and over, simply because of her love for it (and because her teacher is amazing). She only paints animals because she decided that was the only thing she liked to paint. And she's amazing, you guys. She's not just OK or passable. Her animal portraits are utterly fantastic.
In the last few years, she's created portraits of our pets, friends pets, clients pets. People are constantly asking her to create something for them. In fact, she was so backed up last year that she's still trying to catch up on requests.
She is almost 70 years old and she finally got back to the thing she loves doing.
It's painfully obvious to me that, had she had this outlet of creativity in her life all those other years, she might have been happier. But she didn't make time for it because she didn't believe she had time. There was too much house work and work-work and raising me as a single parent. There was simply too much of everything else and not enough time.
Time is an illusion, though. We make of it what we want.
Every single week, I write. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. I schedule it into my life. Even when I'm swamped and even when it feels like work, I write. I do this with my other passions as well. I dedicate time to travel. I fit my photography into my adventures. I create, I carve, I mold my time to encompass the things that I love.
I do not wait for extra time to magically appear because I know it never will.
Remember that thing you loved, so long ago? Go back to it. Recapture the bliss. Create a schedule in your life that allows for the thing you loved so dearly. Make. It. Happen.
You deserve a life filled with the things you
want to do, not just
need to do; filled with all the things you love. Not just the people you love or the paycheck that puts food on the table, but the things that make you feel more like you.
Find the time. It is there. It is tangible.
Pursue the things you're passionate about.
It's a gift only you can give yourself.
