Wasting time is often a thought that sends chills down the spine of many people. It angers them, worries them, provokes anxiety in them. Many people wouldn't even there about taking a sabatical year before entering the University, or after finishing it and before looking for their first job. Many can't even think about a whole day spent sleeping orr just vegetating on the couch in pajamas, watching TV or reading the news paper. Many people even tend to feel guilty for spending a day or any amount of time without doing something "productive" or something important. You should be concentrating always on your studies, always on your job, always on your family, always on working out your body, always on whatever project you are involved with. This is particularly interesting seeing how we live in a world bombarded on all fronts with leisure activities, such as movies, amusement parks, commercial centers, games, concerts and similars, and yet, the prospect of taking time to immerse yourself in them is nearly forbidded. Technically, even during holidays you could be wasting time.
If you do a trip to some foreing place, and I haven't seen and taken pictures at every single notorious place, then you have wasted your holiday. If you went to a gym but didn't complete your rutine, you wasted time. Really, why are we so programmed against going with the flow and doing as we please?
Unplug. Take the weekend and do nothing. No errands, no chores, just sleep for as long as you want, the whole day if it pleases you. Eat only comfort food - it's not like a weekend of hotdogs will mean the doom of your soul and you'll become overweight and never be able to lose it. Put on your most comfortable jeans, your most comfortable shoes, your comfy shirt and go out. Make no plans, let your feet lead the way. Go, simply go, take clue from your first thought. Go to a park, go to the movies and see what's there to be seen. Go to a museum, jump into your car and go to a forest or a beach, or another city, and park your car and get some fast food or some local food at a local diner.
Yes, granted, not every place in the world is Budapest, when but letting the public transportation system lead you, you can go from a fabulous, fairy tale-like palace-museum, to Ancient Roman ruins, to the movies, a restaurant with killer eggplant cream on toasted pita chips, to a bar with live music from a local band that ain't half bad, to a square that has the power to inspire you to greatness.
Walk, go online and google your own city, looking for the touristic attractions and dare to check them out with new eyes. Take pictures at your own city, crouch down and take pictures at the ants, if you suddenly find them amusing. Nothing is a waste of time if it enriches your soul with new, great experiences.
I've been here a month so wrapped up in the things I came to do, I nearly forgot what a beautiful place I live in. I have the chance now, so this should be the time I take to scout the whole city, search up all the wonderful nooks and crooks I haven't discovered yet, and rediscovering those I used to know. Maybe there's more magic lying hidden somewhere.
Try it out, because the real wasting of time happens when you neglect to see what's around you.
3 comments:
Whenever I want to explore beautiful places that aren't necessarily mentioned in a travel guide I look up my town (or wherever I am at the moment) at geocaching.com. It's some sort of gps scavenger hunt where you can find tiny boxes of things (caches) hidden somewhere you would've never thought of going to before. you should try it :D
about wasting time, it's something I am almost unable to do although I have days where I do nothing else than to watch TV, read and sleep. However, I feel so bad afterwards and hate myself for .. wasting time. I'd love to get rid of that attitude.
This geocaching seems interesting. First I'll see if I can set the GPS on my phone (probably yes, but I may not be as bright myself to do it), and then I'll see if I start looking for the boxes. Have you hunted any boxes?
I'm perusing also a weekly free magazine like, where you can see what's in the movies, but also see what expositions are opening, what's in the museums and so on. I think I've found myself a couple of interesting things! :-)
The thing about wasting time is thinking that you are wating time. If you do something you enjoy, but what others might consider wasting time, then you are not. For instance, many people would think that spend time writing a novel is wasting time. :-) It's all perspective.
hey, yeah, we go geocaching almost every weekend. Though there are some hidden in town I prefer to look for them in the wild (national parks so to say) There are apps for it, you can download the maps on your phone and work without internet access (on the iphone, on my android it does only work with internet ... stupid app)every picture in my 4th American Experience Facebook Album was taken during Geocaching.
I know, people tend to throw these magazines away (we get them for free in Austria) but there are quite some interesting events to be found. :D
Now I am going to create a poster "YOU ARE NOT WASTING TIME" and fix it to my wall !
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