We are so busy these days… busy, busy, busy… filling every moment with thoughts, actions and obligations. So much so, that when we have some down time, we don’t even know what to do with it! We feel like we should be doing something… anything…

I’m sure technology has a lot to do with filling our time. Frequent interruption
s and for some a constant pull to check what’s happening or look up some trivial detail… The world at our fingertips, right? Not that the internet is a bad thing—it has many positive applications in our lives.  But it carries an aspect of easy addiction that is perhaps one of our greatest challenges.

Our phones can go everywhere with us, and along with it, the internet and social media. It seems like every minute that we have free, we are online, looking for connection.  And some of those minutes we’re using up aren’t free at all—their designated for work, personal responsibilities or self care.

Everybody wants more time! We feel the pressure of a big “to do” list.  But if we had more time, what would we do with it?  Jam more stuff in?  If we can’t manage the time we have, how can we expect to manage more of it?  It can  be overwhelming to a mind that longs for space.

Time is precious. And if we spend all of it running around in a crazed daze or with our head stuck in our phone like an ostrich buried in the ground, what will our life be filled with?  Will everything be a blur?  Will we have memories? Or will our minds be filled with less-than-important trivia?

Our relationships and our connections bring depth to our lives. We think that is what we are doing when we sit on technology emailing, posting or texting. But perhaps we are deluding ourselves.  Reading things over and over in our heads and responding from our self talk… There is so much more to communication than just words we read.  What about the tone of voice, body posture, and eye contact?  The space between the words?

And what about our relationship with our Self? That is the thing that most often takes a back seat.  For many of us, we no longer know how to spend time with our Self without having to be doing something to fill “the void.”  That perceived void of not having to do something!!

How will we know ourselves if we don’t spend the time? We won’t.  We’ll have trouble making decisions or knowing what feels right from a soul level.  We’ll feel pressure and obligation to meet the expectations of others. We’ll try to escape when things get challenging because we don’t have the trust in ourselves to have the strength and courage to carry onward.

The connection we have with our true and authentic self is the most important relationship we have.  Within ourselves, we carry our relationship to Source, to our own spirit, and really, the relationship we have with our self is the basis of all of our other relationships here in this place.

Some days back the electricity was knocked out in our community. High winds opened the door to a 4 hour reprieve from the online world and a busy to-do list.  What a gift!  No computer, no internet.  No radio or TV either. No “I need to check this… do that… finish this…” It just wasn’t possible.  It seemed like all of this pressure I didn’t even know I had just drained out of me.

It reminded me of my somewhat younger days when time seemed to move slower…. looking up and watching the clouds change moment by moment on the canvas of the sky.  I spent that afternoon enjoying my Self and just being present.

I experienced the incredible benefit of being unplugged for a bit. I’ve decided to regularly gift myself with the time and space to simply BE.  No pressure, no internet, no phone, no have-to’s or should’s.   Sometimes it is more about making space than finding space.

Originally published in The Magic Happens:  http://themagichappensnow.com/finding-space/