When is it a good time to slow down? No, I’m really asking.
This Friday I will be turning the ripe old age of 38 and I haven’t ever related more with the idea of time flying. Life is short. Here today, gone tomorrow. Insert other meaningful idioms and figures of speech here.
Officially transferring from my mid-thirties to my late-thirties means I’m not feeling so young anymore. What does all of this have to do with art and painting and being a creative person?
Filling Our Days Up
As creative people, we can often fill up our days with a variety of activities. Burgeoning artists are most likely working a regular job while pursuing their personal work. Established artists are juggling the business side of things, preparing for their next show or series. Many artists are running their lives through a custom schedule that sometimes needs tweaking. Furthermore, we live in a busy society with myriad distractions and the potential for falling behind on things. You might end up with a feeling of having to catch up on stuff, power through, go from A to B to C, or any number of important or seemingly important activities.
This takes a toll on our time, for sure, but it also does something internally. Our minds start to develop a sense of forward-thinking. We set end goals, due dates, and other measurable progress markers as helpful ways of organizing our lives. These tools enable us to succeed in our pursuits, to learn from our mistakes, and to generate a process of operating that will hopefully lead us to efficiency and results. Let’s not forget, though, that as humans we are bound to screw things up. One of the biggest regrets of people near the end of their lives is that they were too wrapped up in their work.
Creative people need clear heads. And they need moments of stillness. Moving from task to task and viewing life as a series of hoops to jump through creates a game out of life. Furthermore, it creates self-focused people. When I was younger, I would look forward to going to a friend’s house to watch football or play a board game. Why do I now think of these events as interruptions? My conclusion is that I have come to value my time more than I used to. Which begs the question: am I using my time wisely?
You see, a person who values their time over sharing it with friends and family should take a good look at themselves and see how they use their time. In our day, a constant distraction in our lives is the smart phone. I’ve definitely prioritized my smart phone over seeing people or doing constructive things. Of course, I could justify it by saying that I needed the decompression that it gives. But in reality, is it actually performing any sort of decompression? Usually, because my mind never gets a break, it just adds to feeling of busyness.
Art projects, jobs, writing, making dinner, doing chores, taking transportation, checking Instagram, scrolling on Facebook, reading headlines, and everything else I fill my day with has to be taking a toll. So, what do I do about it? Find what is missing in that list and add it. Find what I don’t like and cut it. In other words, if there are things I can do to improve my quality of life, I need to identify them and make time for them.
A New List
For me, a new list would include the things that help me provide for my family. That includes work and chores. Second, I would be greatly aided by paying attention to my mental, physical, and spiritual health. For example, I can make time to read meaningful things, exercise my body, and practice stillness. These things can be overlooked because the results are not immediate – they happen over time. But what are if not our minds, bodies, and souls?
Eliminating the fat for our new list can have a tremendous effect on our well-being. For instance, cutting Facebook can lead to less mindless anger, frustration, and jealousy. You don’t have to live your life comparing yourself to everybody else. You have that kind of control!
Everything else can fall in place. The work can get done with more emphasis on quality, not desperation. Social life can begin to flourish again, no longer taking a backseat to selfish ambition. After all, it’s not good to isolate oneself. Taking a little time to make a new list will not only challenge your perspective, but also give your accomplishments more weight.
So, yeah, I’m turning 38. I’m inclined to say that it came quick, but I think it’s just surprising to consider my age. It’s not that time goes really fast, it’s that time goes at all. It’s a reminder of that. And hopefully it can encourage me to take stock of my life and express my gratitude for the many blessings I have.
