Time waits for none

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So it’s August, and we’re still social distancing and not travelling or going out. I’ve had a few dozen thoughts about what I’m doing with my life and if I’m doing enough. I think we’ve all had more ups and downs over the last few months than we’ve ever had?

The world was at a stand-still when COVID just hit, the Earth was healing and the crime levels dropped. I read that the gangs in Cape Town decided to have a truce and things were looking up for a lot of people. But then winter hit, there was a huge rise in the number of infections and there was also a lot of really catastrophic things happening around the world. Yesterday the massive explosion in Beirut happened, and I couldn’t help but realise just how many things we’ve experienced this year, though, in the confinements of our homes, it still alters our lives.

People started ignoring the social distancing laws and with the lifting of the alcohol bands, things started getting rowdy all over again. Domestic abuse was at a rise, violence and crime started rising again as well and things are seemingly more normal, even though the numbers haven’t exactly decreased. I’ve grown to know that so many friends, family and people I personally know, have been infected, some who have died, and many who have thankfully recovered. But I guess we only really realise how grave something is when it hits a little closer to home.

There have been days, like yesterday, with the explosion, where I feel so helpless. As much as we are able to do, there is still so much to be done. It also reminds us how quickly your life can change. In a blink of an eye, everyone you love could be taken away; everything you’ve worked for could be gone; nothing in life is promised.

We tend to focus so much on things we don’t always have control over and the terrible things in life kinda has an odd way of reminding us what is truly important. What we should be focussing on. What relationships we should value and to spend our time more wisely.

Recently I took into account what I’ve been doing with my days. A lot of time goes to my job (thankfully), I wasted a lot of time on mundanities that were not beneficial to my soul. . . like social media absorption and time wasting. So I changed that:

Instead of spending hours on social media, I started playing guitar again, I started reading, learning the technicalities of my filming equipment and software research, I spend even more time out in the backyard, in the sun, with my fury besties, go to the field walking and running and exploring what I can while being quarantined.

I’ve been planning my business paperwork and giving some more thought to the content I aim to put out. It’s been eye-opening just how much more time I’ve awarded myself by just cutting out some of the time I spent on social media. My phone monitors my screen-time and every week since I’ve been acting more vigilant with my electronics, it has gone down. I feel a lot more refreshed and a lot less lethargic. Being isolated initially, set my cabin fever at an all-time high, but since I’ve changed my habits, things haven’t felt as caged as it initially did.

Keeping active and trying to work out has been rewarding for the bad posture during day-long meetings, because eventually you just don’t know how to sit anymore. I think we put so much pressure on ourselves, too little time to ourselves and don’t celebrate the little milestones we accomplish every day. We need to do our best and we need to find a balance for rest because both are equally important. I’ve learnt that too much of anything is no good for you. I guess a good life then entails that we find the balances between all of the things we need in just the right doses.

Anyway, I could probably babble on about how important every hour is, every minute, every moment. . . but instead, let me just say that we were given this time, this life and it would be really sad if we waste it watching others on social media, instead of creating moments and memories for ourselves. Being present. Creating more than absorbing. It’s a far better usage of our time.

Do more.

Be more.

Stay healthy & safe and remember to check on your loved ones during this time. You’d be surprised just how many people in your life could use a shoulder to cry on.