IF I COULD ONLY FIND TIME

When we are young, we have all the time in the world. There are no time consuming responsibilities. We are able to pursue our hobbies, and invest a lot of time in enjoying the activities that give us joy. When we are employed, this extra time starts reducing, as we are focused on meeting the demands of our career.

After marriage, this time further reduces. Then we have children. It is around this period, we have no time of our own. Between, boss, wife, children and parents we get lost in a maze. We do not know when the day dawns and when it ends. Slowly the focus shifts to priorities, and all our loved hobbies are now a faded memory.  The brilliant colors fade to become black and white and finally to sepia tone.

Then at one stage, we stop longing, and simply give up. The gym, music classes, art classes, become foreign territories, beyond our access; While inside us the longing remains,” if I could only find time……”

Peter Drucker said— 'If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.' I started wondering, what is it I should give up to do what I wanted to? The answer flashed- less of TV.

I reduced TV time to just an hour.  8PM to 9PM. Then for an hour, I drew and painted with water -colors. But cleaning the paint and brushes, after painting, at 10 PM, was a task. Predictably, the painting remained incomplete. An hour was not enough.

 Even as we grow old, we continue to underestimate our weakness and aging. The spirit and thoughts are always young, and so is the planning. However, execution is wanting because of the inherent low levels of vigor of the elderly. Even in something as simple as painting, energy plays a major role. 

So, the next part of planning was to do something I liked without the energy drain. I was in a dead end. One Sunday as I cleaned my wardrobe I came across a few sketch- books I had purchased few years back. As I dusted them, I thought that, they might be the right solution for my desire.

Yester night I sketched the picture of a smiling man, from the sketch- book. It came out reasonably well, with a good resemblance to the original. I could finish it within an hour, with no post cleaning work.  

I am looking forward to sketch Brad Pitt’s photo tonight. So finally, I could fit in, some work of love, into my life of labor; Just a positive aspect, but it does bring in a sustainable glow, for the rest of the day.

Let us see, what all I should stop doing, to include, singing also into the schedule.