Your Time, Your Life

How do you spend your free time? Or, does the concept of free time elude you? The time-space continuum is something that brings us together and drives us apart, but is it one concept of the Grand design that defines humanity, especially since the Industrial Revolution; where ‘time’ has essentially become an entity itself.

Besides work, the dichotomy of work and play has permeated our nomenclature and social norms. For the most part, the two seem mutually exclusive. If there is one phrase that we can agree to that unites us in the 21st Century, it’s “the search for something.” Less work, more play, and it’s no wonder that many of us have lost the concept of spending quality time the way that we want to.

It is an oddity that often, it takes a major life event to turn towards the self, to stop doing, and to begin asking oneself how are you spending your time? And, is it important to them, is it of value to their ‘self’?

“The way we spend our time defines who we are” — Jonathan Estrin

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Our Choices

The majority of our ‘spending time,’ the true nature of why it is what we do (and don’t do) is itself a complex field of study. Every field from Sociology to Psychology to Neuroscience have given us clues into our time spending habituals; not to mention the subconscious influences that may never be brought to the surface, something Carl Jung was famous for instilling in the world of psychoanalysis. Perhaps, our entire ‘persona;’ everything that has shaped us from the time we are born, plays a significant role in how we choose how to spend our time every single day.

While our time management has become a subject of serious importance, the subject of self-management is often overlooked.

This is in due part, to the shifting culture of the ‘self’; a new paradigm of thinking and being that begins to shift our focus to maintaining and fostering a healthy ‘self.’

In a 2012 ‘Psychology Today’ article, the author states that there are many benefits to finding time in solitude (not isolation), but personal time with the self, including a chance for the brain and body to unwind, improved concentration, and more time to get to know yourself, including making time for creative pursuits.

Finding Balance

Finding balance in your life and fostering a different kind of mentality is ultimately, a shift in our culture and in our way of being. This movement is catered towards self-realization and personal growth, moving away from cultural distractions towards crafting the ‘self.’ While typical ‘hobbies’ are personal and varied in mainstream culture, we have understood, by now, what spare time generally involves; the ABC’s of leisure. Below are a few tips and commentary on getting started, moving towards a healthier balance in one’s choices of how they use their time .

Activities and the Self

Instead of watching television, try reading a good book or listening to music to tantalize the auditory system. Or, rock it out, the sofa and all! If you end up reading, read a book that has been intentionally chosen for yourself or one that came recommended from a source that you wouldn’t normally consult (for example, a reference in a journal article). Perhaps a visit to the library is much needed. This way, you have actually engaged your brain in a different type of thinking, doing, and ritual behavior; and it has been scientifically demonstrated that new patterns build new neuronal networks in the brain.

New Networks in the Brain

Tara Swart, a senior lecturer at MIT and author of Neuroscience for Leadership, describes how neural networks change over time. One way is to focus on energy intensive activities “that require conscious processing of inputs, conscious decision-making, complex problem solving, memorizing complex concepts, planning, strategizing, self-reflection, regulating our emotions and channeling energy from them, exercising self-control and willpower” (
“Creating New Neural Pathways in the Brain”, 2019, The Alternative Daily).

The Alternative Daily

Engaging in creative activities is also one way to foster a healthier brain, and lifestyle. Learning a new language or playing a musical instrument is also key to building new neural networks; habits, and perhaps even changes in lifestyle.

Truly, when was the last time that you interacted with the written word? When have you last time you have written anything?

I hear that poetry rocks one’s world. You should give it a try!

Instead of engaging with the coverage of international warfare, which predisposes the mind to violence and negativity, try listening to differentiating viewpoints and voices on the radio, or catch up with a friend over a movie, coffee or a walk in the park. There is nothing like nature to restore a tired body, mind, Spirit and heart.

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Interactions with friends and others can activate the neurotransmitters and regions of the brain responsible for pleasure, joy and learning. There is something to be said about isolation becoming a bad habit that breeds more isolation, which fosters more neural changes in the brain in a negative direction. These become patterns and patterns become habits, and habits become a lifestyle. Don’t let your lifestyle go to waste, watch how you spend your time.

When you feel the sensation of violence or anger brewing, or you have engaged in conflict, a good old’ shouting match or war of words, watch a movie like “Bowling for Columbine.” Or, take a moment to remember the brutality of Rodney King’s interaction with the Los Angeles police department in the early 1990’s. Think about the implications of violence, hatred and anger and it’s contribution to the decimation of democratic free will; also a poison to the self.

This is not to mention that senseless acts of violence rob individuals and society of the love, peace and harmony that is so desperately needed in order for individuals to live fulfilling lives, ushering us into what a truly modern society should look like.

When you feel sadness, loneliness or emptiness, explore those feelings and incorpore a daily spiritual practice to ground yourself as you allow the process of life to unfold. At the same time however, in the interest of balance, there is no shame in watching viral cat and dog shenanigans on YouTube. You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine! And, if being used wisely, you are contributing to a healthier ‘self’ by engaging with different mediums.

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It All Comes Down to Effort

Meet uninvited feelings of depression or a lack of enthusiasm with the laughing fit of a friend. Alternate shopping with volunteering for those who have nothing to spend. Match the intake of fresh air through outdoor activities with the amount of time that you spend on pursuits such as computer work and journaling or the composition of an article, or something else of interest, however small it may seem. Because, there is no small effort in making an effort in your life.

Use one eye to see the black and the other to see white. Understand the juxtaposition in humanity. Use both eyes to see the colors between, the beauty in this world, use your senses to smell the sweet fragrance of a garden of roses; contemplate yin and yang.

Balance

It is all about balance, this life. A key component of balance in one’s life is finding a good combination of complimentary activities. As the individual’s heart, brain, Spirit and mind need equal amounts of nourishment, it makes no sense to bombard one sense with one type of activity over and over again, while neglecting the finer, often neglected needs of our very Spirit~ the essence of us. Balance is essential in maintaining a healthy life, a robust ‘you,’ an order amidst the structure lacking in modern day society, and to balance the scales of balance so that one can live a life of abundance and a lack, of lack.