Buddhist leaders agree that people have become too focused on their daily engagements and too connected to every aspect of their lives. They refer to this condition as “time poor” because people are constantly overbooked and overworked, yet still agree to add even more commitments to their already packed schedules. Among the long list of downsides of a fast-paced lifestyle, one finding is more concerning than the rest: people are terrible at making time to unwind and chill out. One of the alarming results of always being on the go is that when people don’t have any activities planned, they are lost and don’t know what to do with their free time. One of the most important parts of human well-being is being able to take the time to pamper yourself on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, Americans, as an entire group, scored the worst on diagnostic tests that looked at time management skills. I think it’s important for us to understand that our well-being is largely affected by things other than our jobs, our schoolwork, and our material goods. One of the things that absolutely has an impact on our happiness is being able to make time for simple pleasures. As a college student, finding the time between studying for exams and writing research papers is difficult, but definitely rewarding.
On Monday, I decided to make a special dinner. It was a nice change of pace because it wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was a home-cooked meal, made from the heart, shared with a special guy (and it didn’t taste that bad either). It was nice to take a few hours to prepare a few dishes because it allowed me to unwind after a hectic first day back. Cooking is a great hobby because first of all, it’s rewarding and secondly, it takes time to make the perfect dish. After baking a few pieces of chicken, throwing together a Caesar salad, and cooking spicy macaroni&cheese, dinner was served. After cooking, the best part comes: eating! We spent the meal talking: light talk, heavy talk, easy talk, awkward talk, funny talk, straight talk, clean talk, and dirty talk. The point wasn’t what kind of conversation was being held, but we were discussing and laughing and just talking about each other. Being able to share in comfortable conversation is a key feature of a healthy relationship, as well as laughing, singing, dancing, playing, and just having fun together!
Taking the time to make this meal was rewarding in way more ways than just the wonderful food that we shared! I know it’s extremely important for everyone’s happiness to make the time on a regular basis to do things that make you happy. Challenge yourself to take a few minutes each day to do something for your own happiness!
Taking the Time to Make the Time 