How to Nourish Your Time
Mum is a keen gardener. With a stressful, full-time job for a corporate organisation, back in the early 90s when women had to work extra hard to be acknowledged, Mum's solace was her garden.
We lived in the countryside in Cambridgeshire. The owner of the Elizabethan mansion next door (it looked like a mansion to my 10-year-old eyes anyway!) built our house as a marriage hall for his daughter. So rather than a back garden, we had a rather large extended front garden.
Pots, Borders & Sensible Shoes
At 6 pm every weekday, I remember the sound of Mum's white Peugeot 205 car pulling into the gravel driveway; the engine shutting off. Followed by Mum's sensible, not too high heel shoes clip-clopping up the path to our house, 'The Gables'. (Our house had the most magnificent wooden, crafted gables, which framed an exaggerated pitched roof).
As she strolled up the path, she would look at the garden. The pots, the borders, just looking. Even at my young age, I knew not to disturb her. It was her quiet moment before the expectations of her job were replaced with the expectations of her family.
As I've grown and am now a mother of 3, with my busy family life, latterly, I too have taken up an interest in houseplants and gardening. I now understand how gardening probably saved Mum's sanity all those years ago!
I also understand the enjoyment of just staring, staring at the plants in pots and borders. Looking at what is surviving, thriving and what needs a little extra care and attention. A mindful, quiet moment of contemplation.
Nourish Your Time Like You Would Your Garden
What I've learnt over the years, especially in the past 12 months, is that time is a precious commodity. Like a plant, time needs attention and the right conditions to flourish:
Protect time from the pests who want to eat the shoots and roots, potentially killing it altogether.
Prune dead wood activities that no are longer useful.
Cut back the branches of less important activities, so that the most important stems of time can develop, grow and eventually bloom.
Feed time regularly with nourishing activities: books, craft, creativity and quality nutrients like food and exercise.
Allow time to unfold slowly like the leaves of a fern, at its own pace, without rushing it.
And sometimes, simply stare into it.
Stare into Time & It Will Reveal The Answers
This last point is my favourite. Just stare...
In these quiet, mindful moments, I'll notice the small things. Make realisations about what needs tending. The next set of pruning. The need to feed a specific aspect of my life. Or perhaps I need to repot into a larger container because I've outgrown my current habits.
Ultimately, this analogy of plants is really about self-care. Cultivating your time is actually about nurturing yourself and the people you cherish.
Now, how will you nourish your time today so that it may grow and blossom?
“Artists often define success in terms of money, happiness, freedom, “doing what I want”, gaining exposure for their work, helping a community...
You want the truth? The best definition of success is time - the time to do your work.”
Have an inspired day
Georgie x