Time Out, Time Off

In one of the meditations in Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote: “I momentarily let go and allow the Universe to proceed without my assistance or supervision.”

This is difficult for me to do, and for most of the people I know. We feel as though we need to be “on” all the time, to be working on something productive, or, at the very least, to be doing something self-improving. The idea of doing something simply because it is pleasurable can be difficult to process.

As CEO of my own company, and the President of an education non-profit, I spend my work day making sure that things proceed in an orderly and business-like manner. It’s all about keeping the chaos flowing in a productive and constructive channel. The chaos can’t be eliminated, but it can be channeled (most of the time).

My time away from the office is especially precious. The only thing I have to manage is myself (which, some days, is honestly more effort than running two companies), and I can focus my time and energy on the activities that are important to me—writing, research, doing divination, and various creative arts and crafts. I do a variety of fiber arts, and bead work, and I love drawing and painting. I will never win a prize with my art, but the joy I experience in the act of creation, and the peace it brings to my soul, are prizes far beyond any worldly recognition.

Also, napping. The hour or two of rest I find in a Sunday nap often feel as restorative as a full night’s sleep.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who, as you might imagine, has just a few obligations and responsibilities, takes every Sunday off to work on her art. Her Majesty spends those hours painting, creating textiles, making découpage works, creating scenography designs, and doing embroidery. She has created scenery and costumes for theatre and dance companies in Denmark. I was fortunate to see an exhibit of her work on a business trip to Copenhagen. Her imagination is vivid, and her talent is notable.

I remind myself that, if the Queen of Denmark can take a day off every week, *I* can take a day off every week. Granted, Her Majesty does not have to cook, or do laundry, or clean, and I do. I plan around that (Saturday night’s leftovers are Sunday’s meal), so I can keep my Sunday time mostly free of domestic work. I know that I am fortunate in this regard, and that not everyone can do this (having children and/or dependent elders imposes obligations that cannot be ignored for an entire day). I am not going to blithely offer useless suggestions for those situations; I simply offer my hope that, for people who do have such obligations, they are able to find some time for their own pleasures and passions, without the worry that the universe will come to a screeching halt when they do so.