What Do You Do With Your Free Time?
This week’s question is, When you have a random hour of free time, what do you usually do?
Free time, whether it’s a minute, hour, day or entire week, is a luxury that few people feel like they have enough of. Time in general is the most valuable commodity in the world. How much would a billionaire spend in their last moments to extend their life just one more day? There is a growing area of science working on longevity, seeing how long we can prolong life. Dr. Peter Attia makes the point that prolonging life isn’t as important as prolonging health; who would want to live a hundred extra years feeling like the average 80 year old or worse?
My Sifu liked to balk at the idea of immortality by asking, What good is immortality to one who can’t use the time they already have well?
Empty Moments vs. Full Moments
This brings us back to the question of the week. What do you do with your free time? Do you fall into the same trap as so many of us and just veg out in front of a screen? How many years have TV and social media stolen from you? Do you think you’ll look back on your life on your deathbed and say, “I wish I had spent more time on TikTok”? Screen time is a popular example, but so much of our life is filled with empty moments. Like empty calories, empty moments are those that don’t serve to help us grow or strengthen connections with each other. We likely won’t remember them. They are just moments that pass us by, sometimes days or weeks at a time.
Living With Purpose
We look back on the work week and say to ourselves “Thank God it’s Friday“, then we proceed to zombie through the weekend just like we zombied through the week. My wife calls this feeling she gets on Sunday the “Sunday Scaries”. She’s not looking forward to going back to work the next week. The funny thing is, she would get them during maternity leave and during vacations too. I’ve had the same experience where this current moment is disappearing so fast it’s like it never happened, and all that’s left is the disappointment or fear of what’s to come.
So, what’s the alternative? As martial artists we endeavor to live in the present as much as possible. This might mean that we design our lives with purpose, filling our days and weeks with full moments. We try to do things we find enjoyable and rewarding. We spend time with people we cherish and try to treat the rest of humanity as partners rather than opponents.
We also do our best to be totally present in the mundane. Meditation and breathing exercises help us reframe each moment as a holy moment, an opportunity to connect with ourselves and the universe through awareness of our breath and body. Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu bring that awareness into movement so that we can walk down the street, type an email or even sit in traffic mindfully.
How Will You Spend Your Time?
The next time you have a random hour of free time, what will you do? Will you sit in front of a screen or will you go for a walk or get to the dojo? Will you watch TV or call a friend you haven’t talked to in what seems like forever?
The next time you have a random moment of free time, how will you be? When you wait in line at the store will you pull out your phone and take in some empty moments or will you take a deep breath and fill those moments with mindful inactivity?
The choice is always yours. After all, this is your time. Spend it wisely and mindfully.
