The freelance life has brought a lot of flexibility to my concept of an office – generally for a few days a week it’s table number one in my favourite restaurant, last week it was anything from a rather cramped airline tray table to a beach bar in Olü Deniz, and today I’m utilising the perfect space for knocking out a bit of copy in total comfort, ie my bed. If we weren’t heading into winter, I’d invest in one of those fabulous outdoor Turkish day-beds – which I now know to be called a kösk – with a canopy swathed in silk and loaded to the hilt with cushions, but sadly that’s not a viable option in anything but high summer here in weather-challenged England.
I’ve resorted to the bed-writing concept as I seem to have turned into Ms Busy of late, which is rather wreaking havoc on my normal laid-back lifestyle. Gone is the time to goof about of a morning pretending to meditate or indulging in a half-hearted attempt at Chi Gong, so life is requiring me to be a tad more organised if I want to fit in all the stuff that keeps me ticking over. For me it’s clear that although there’s a lot that can go by the wayside, there are some cornerstones to my life that guarantee a more peaceful transition into the day and they can be modified, but never completely sacrificed.
Most people aren’t up to much until they’ve had their first cup of coffee, but I’m a bad news bear unless I get a chance to slip in even the most minimal meditation session. If I have the time, I’ll try all sorts of things that would pretty much guarantee me a cameo role in Ab Fab, such as chanting, body prayers, stillness practices or good old-fashioned guided meditations. Having studied spiritual practices of the world religions, there’s nothing better than taking advantage of this enormous devotional smorgasbord and trying out new practices to refresh your connection to the spiritual life. Bottom line, though, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. On a busy day, even five minutes of inner peace is enough to top up the reserves and leave you feeling in tune and on purpose.
Spiritual practice needs to be something that enhances your life and brings you joy, not something you feel is a chore or an imposition. That’s one of the reasons I tend to use a lot of variety in my own meditations, because I try to make them responsive to how my life is unfolding. Some practices are better for gathering energy, others are more calming and some bring a very strong, heartfelt sense of connection to all life.
In a world where we’re all increasingly busy, simplicity is an even greater attraction. We’re over-stimulated by too much choice – even just ordering a coffee is a complex business when you have to decide if it’s a decaf, skinny, grande, latte, mocha choca whatever – and we’re absolutely strung out on information overload. Overflowing email inboxes and incessantly ringing mobile phones mean we’re more in touch than ever, yet somehow we actually communicate less. Messages are staccato and include just the basics, becoming more and more impersonal. Time is the commodity we all want, allegedly to spend with our family and friends, but we’re busy getting anything but.
This particular downward spiral of busyness will never solve itself of its own accord. You have to grab it by the throat and take charge of your own schedule in a gung-ho kind of way that brooks no interference. Some things just have to be sacred. It doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible, but it does mean that you have to start choosing what’s important to you and carving out time in your life for it.
If this seems slightly contradictory to last week’s suggestion that you loosen up your schedule and make space for serendipity, then welcome to the wonderful world of paradox, ie life. It’s a balancing act of structure and space, and only you can determine if it’s working in the right way for you. I tend to need a lot of freedom, but I’ve also realised that structure serves me to ensure that I have time for the things that I enjoy and the practices that keep me sane.
Funnily enough I used to be such a complete lounge lizard that my dream life would have been being carried around on a sedan chair – OK, that bit’s still true – but in the past year I have inexplicably discovered the joy of exercise, so much so that I structure my days to ensure I have time to make it to classes. Any of my friends reading this will probably be in shock right about now, because this is a bit of a guilty secret, but I’ve somehow managed to get past the ‘exercise as pain in the arse’ barrier to discover that it makes me feel better and I actually enjoy it. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I was glad to be back from my trip so I could settle back into my stretch class and yoga routine – how sad is that? But I digress … the point is that it’s so easy to let life run you, so you have to take a stand for what’s important to you.
Being adaptable is another key trick to holding fast to what you value. Sometimes it’s just not possible to fit in everything you want to, so the fabulous thing to do is to learn to go with the flow and still make sure you carry the essence of what you value with you. Can’t make a class? Five minutes stretching is better than nothing. No time for dinner with friends? Have a coffee. Can’t find enough time for meditation? Even a few deep breaths can be enough to calm you and restore a sense of peace. You get the picture – being rigid means giving things up, but if you’re flexible you can find a way to have even just a little taste of what you enjoy, and that will give you the energy to get through a busy day with more grace and energy.
This week’s fabulous anti-busyness practice is twofold: first make sure you structure in a defined time for something you enjoy and, secondly, create a ‘Plan B’ adaptable version in case life throws a curveball at you. What is it that you want more of in your life? What are you always saying that you’ll do, but never get around to? This week, get it in the diary and make it sacred. Don’t allow anyone to guilt you into postponing it. If you genuinely can’t do it for some unforeseen reason – and it had better be a good one – then create a ‘mini-me’ version that you can manage to fit in to even the busiest schedule. Fabulous people know what makes them tick and they make time for what’s important to them – that’s what makes them fabulous. Be fab and live life your way.
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All material © 2006 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 23 Oct 06)
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