Mahogony

Ben once told me an average human being only has about 15% of his entire life to do the things he likes to do, i.e. time for him or herself. A vast majority of his life would be spent working. The remaining time would be spent between time in the bathroom, time sleeping and time traveling.

Now, assuming a person lives to age 70, which would be a grand total of 613,200 hours. 15% of that would be 91,980 hours to yourself. At that time when he shared this “discovery” of his, he seemed quite contented to have only about ninety-thousand hours of his entire lifetime, doing the things he liked to do which was play ball and hang out with his mates.

Yet, the last few months has just been so crazy, ninety-thousand hours don’t seem to be enough for him anymore. And this was a position I didn’t ever think I would see him arrive at.

I once wrote that there are “so many definitions and so many interpretations of 4 lil alphabets. Seen the same way via the calendar and the many variations of time-keeping equipment, yet different in each person’s mind’s eye.”

I have friends who envy me for having so much time on my hands these days. They wished they were in my shoes – working the requisite 9-to-5 and having the full weekend off. I in turn, listen to their stories of “chaos” and “crisis” at their workplaces with droll running down my lips. Go Figure! It’s not to say that I do not appreciate having a more laidback life these days. I do. I have time to spend with my kids. I have time to read and still sleep. But I didn’t get here by accident.

I have done my time – 5 years of it – and so I count it that I am now reaping the fruits of my labour. I have been at the beck-and-call of my bosses. I have dashed out the door on important dates and not looked back in that instant, but regret it till kingdom come later on. I have decided that was not a life and I am done with it.

Al once said that “Time management isn't about time or management. It's about knowing what's important in life.” It is not merely the physical consciousness of the moving of hands on the face of the clock. It’s about being there In.The.Moment with another.

While I miss my 16-hour days, 4 pm lunches at the desk and 10 pm dinners eaten like a zombie, I know that all that I achieved in those hours, cannot make up for hearing my kids squeal with glee as I walk thru my parent’s front door. The energy I give up in dealing with customers and staff, cannot equate to the pleasure I derive from wiping down the house with L&L on a Saturday morning or being the tow-truck in the pool on a Sunday afternoon.

I quite like seeing things clearly, as one does when one is not harried. I quite like having my mind uncluttered so that when people speak, I am truly listening and not making a mental list of what needs to be boxed off the next day at work. And I suppose that is what Ben (and perhaps maybe even the Bear) has come to realized.

But if a change is to be taken, no one can force their hand to it. It is something that each of them must consciously decide to take up and do. Cos people like us – we’re not built like the cashier or the dvd seller. And thus the effort to free up more time for ourselves, to tip the scale towards a simple life, is much harder to achieve.

You have to decide that watching the sun go down outside of your office space is something you wanna do – on an almost daily basis. It’s kinda like quitting smoking – if you ain’t got the will-power, you’re only gonna end up stressing yourself out and smoking even more. And then you’d be left with solo papayas that dry up and become prunes.

So here's my question for the day: Is this just stemming from the frustrations you're feeling from being caught in the eye of the tornado, or have you reached a pivotal moment where you will change the way your life is, for the better?

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life's been showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?

Is the trade-off going to be good enough for you? Cos if it ain't - I'd suggest you leave it as be then.

Theme from Mahogony
Diana Ross