Devoting our time to what matters

We often complain of having too little time - too little time for work, too little for resting, for playing, and so on. But there is always the same amount of time; what matters is how we use it. Easy to say, harder to put into practice. Where does your time go? Observe, without judging. How much is spent watching TV? How much in the garden? How much feeling grouchy and irritated? How much feeling and demonstrating love? When we look within, it is very easy to pinpoint those things which we should nourish by devoting our time to them. And love lies at the center of them all. But do we make enough time for it? We make time for TV, even for our yoga class, but do we make time to truly be with the person or people we love?

Thich Nhat Hahn says that each morning and evening, maybe when saying goodbye and hello again, we should each hug the people we love and together take 3 deep breaths. That's all. Just a few seconds to breathe together. But the precious, real connection this repeated act creates is a strong loving force in the universe. We must bring about a revolution in how we relate to those we love, and that of course includes ourselves. Yoga practice is a wonderful way to love the self. We must reconnect with our love of others and of life. As the brilliant Shel Silverstein says,

"I will not play at tug o' war.
I’d rather play at hug o’war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins."

.......I know it's silly, but....imagine if the whole world chose hug-of-war instead.