Aging Capriciously

What is free time? Students, people on seminars, people at retreats and people on tours are often told that they will have such and such time as free time. We assume this means we can do anything we want with our time. However, even if we could really do anything we wanted to with this time (highly unlikely), would the time really be free? Did you not pay for the tour or conference in the first place? If so, then you paid for the “free” time that you are getting. Time always costs us something.

Generally, we are overjoyed at getting free time, since if we put the cost aside, we are more grateful for the chance to spend it the way we want to. Time that is under our control is often more valuable to us than money that is under our control. In an ideal world, both would be under our control but in real life we are constantly juggling time and money. Neither of which are free or totally under our control.

Getting free time is no more likely than getting free money. It is funny that we seldom expect to get free money, but we take for granted the idea of free time. This just shows how little we value time until we really need it or until it is in short supply. What if you were told: “now you are going to have some very expensive time to do what you want to do today? It is not free but it is very precious.” Would this change what you would do with your time? Would it change how you felt about the use of this time? So what are you going to do with your free time today? How often do you get any free time? How much would “more’ free time be worth to you? Would you buy some if it were for sale?

Sleepy Time tea is a commercial tea made by Celestial Seasonings. Celestial Seasonings calls this tea “Sleepy Time” because it is mostly comprised of chamomile. Chamomile is an herb that has natural properties which promote restfulness and drowsiness. It is an aromatic tea with a pleasant fruity flavor that goes great with honey. When I drink this tea, I think of the Hobbits from Tolkien’s famous stories. The Hobbits were very peaceful people who lived in the Shire and were just happy to stay home and smoke their pipes and drink their tea. Well, on a cold winter’s night in Minnesota when the temperature is 15 degrees BELOW zero; that is a wonderful thing to do. Kick back in a big old recliner in front of a roaring fire with a good book and a nice cup of Sleepy Time tea.

Can you think of a better way to spend a winters evening or even a summers evening for that matter? Just sitting in a big recliner chair, reading a good book and drinking a wonderfully soothing cup of tea! No place to go, no goals to complete, no project deadlines to meet, no team meetings to get to! Just let the wonderful herb work its magic and before you know it, you are off to a nice warm bed and a very deep and relaxing sleep.

This is not a commercial for tea, but for a way of life that all too many of us forego for the stress and rush that we call the modern world. We dream of a retirement that might look like the way the Hobbits live every day. However, as soon as we are retired, we fill our days up again with volunteer activities, clubs, and other stress producing tasks. How many people do you know who are retired and say “I’m busier now than when I was working?” We don’t know how to be a Hobbit and most of us will die before we learn. If you are retired, you should have a least a few Hobbit days in your schedule. If you are not retired, you probably need these days even more. Try building some Hobbit days into your calendar.

Can you just see back and relax? Buy a cup of chamomile tea and see if this helps you. Chamomile tea is natures answer to the frenetic producing caffeinated drinks that are dominating the market today. Would you rather be a Hobbit or a caffeine addict?