Wait & Hurry

Dear Friends, This is going to be a short note - better "short & done" than "long & too late"!

We've talked about time and how "days are long, but weeks fly by", how time feels so nebulous.

Well, yesterday, I had a few hours to think about tempo, the rhythm of activity we adopt to fill in our time. I was stretched out on a couch, a little feverish, knocked out with vaccine side effects.

I'm deeply grateful to science for providing a vaccine that will restore my freedom and deeply grateful to my body for creating the antibodies that will keep me safe. No doubts about that.
I had come through the first jab unscathed and somewhat smug and so did not expected to be knocked down this time.

I can't remember the last time I spent a day sleeping, and then enjoyed a solid 10-hour sleep at night. In terms of tempo, I was at "pause". I tried fighting it - rising panic with the "to do" list in mind. And then surrendered...

Once I told myself that it was perfectly okay to do nothing, that a sacrificed day would have little impact in the long-term, I was able to embrace the healing that my body was striving for with the chills and the aches.

I thought about how Artists so often rush to meet deadlines and then wait... they rush to get to gigs, rush to load in - and then wait... they rush to answer a call - and then wait... I'm just not sure that the unsteady tempo is the best way of getting through our days. As we move out of the pandemic phase and press "reset", it might be worth thinking about how we want to approach time and not just think about what we want to get done.

I don't want to go back to hurried activity. I'm so done with feeling rushed. I personally am going to strive for a more measured approach, with more time spent lying on the couch (or in a hammock, or on a beach!)

What about you? What rhythm works for you? Back to busyness? How will you get the best of that "rush" that comes from the rush, without getting lost in the flurry?

If you have ideas for how you can make the most of time, for a more balanced life, I welcome them! Feel free to comment below or come to the Hang and discuss!

In the meantime, get your jabs folks! Science is good and freedom is glorious!

xo Nat

PS. Here's a sweet song to remind us the value of Taking Our Time by Madeleine Roger

https://youtu.be/gKpuX4xm77M