I was having a rushed kind of day today, mainly because I was trying to pack too much in (as usual). I was also feeling a bit tired, a bit worn down and a bit out of sorts. The shadow of my father’s birthday ( Sept 2nd) was hanging over me. He died 18 months ago.

I had a meeting scheduled for 2pm with someone who is often running late.  Even so I was putting myself under pressure to get there on time.  Arriving at our meeting place and before I got out of the car, i rang him to see where he was.  It was no surprise that he was running late.  Part of me was angry for having rushed to get there. Luckily another part of me told me to STOP…..so I did.

I stayed in the car. I could’ve gone and waited for him in the cafe, or even done some window shopping en route. But I paused in the moment, looked out of the car window and just observed…. people, cars, trees, wind, sky, shops.  Then I closed  my eyes and felt the support of the car seat, holding me, supported by gravity in the moment. I took a deep breath and listened to the sounds that were drawing my attention to them. I sat in that way of gentle awareness of the environment for several minutes.  It was the nicest thing I had done for myself all day!!

When I went to counter in the cafe to order, my colleague arrived apologizing for his tardiness.  With a smile on my face I said ” No problem at all. I had a lovely time waiting.” So why not try to use the gift of time to make the most of time?