I<\/span>t was an ordinary Sunday. Or at least it started that way. As an accountant with a looming deadline for a financial statement and twenty personal tax returns to complete, my day was meticulously planned out. I woke at the crack of dawn, determined to tackle the tasks ahead and be ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n However, life, as it often does, had a different plan. My wife, waking at a more leisurely 9 am, had a simple request. \u201cHon, can you drive me to Saskatoon Farm? I have some muffins to pick up.\u201d I let out a sigh, masked my growing panic at the thought of rescheduling my work, and agreed to her request.<\/p>\n Then came a detour for breakfast at Phil\u2019s. And a spontaneous trip to the annual Lilac Festival that was taking place on our street. And just as I thought I could return to my work, my son woke up late and needed a ride to the campus of Mount Royal University, where he\u2019s a student.<\/p>\n Time, it seemed, was slipping away.<\/p>\n About to scream, \u201cstop wasting my time,\u201d I paused. Suddenly, I was transported back to my younger days, bombarded with the echoes of my mother\u2019s disapproving voice. \u201cYou failed your high school exams. You failed every accounting exam you\u2019ve taken. You\u2019re such a loser. Stop wasting time.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite thirty years of physical separation, it felt like my mum was standing right before me, her voice laced with fiery rebuke.<\/p>\n In the midst of the chaos, a realization dawned. Immersed in the happiness my family and life with them has brought me and the love we share, I recalled a quote from one of my favorite childhood books: Antoine de Saint-Exupery\u2019s The Little Prince.<\/p>\n \u201cAll grown-ups were once children\u2026 but only few of them remember it. It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important. I am who I am, and I have the need to be. The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n That day, amidst unexpected detours and incessant interruptions, I was reminded that what has come to be known as \u201cwasting time\u201d is, in fact, an invaluable gift\u2014one that we should all embrace routinely\u2014even when it seems inopportune. When we \u201cwaste time,\u201d we:<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s a spontaneous breakfast with our partner or a drive across town with our child, these are the moments that deepen our relationships. When we set aside our immediate tasks and engage fully with our loved ones, we create memories that often prove to be more valuable than any material possession or accomplishment. Time spent with loved ones is never wasted.<\/p>\n In the hustle and bustle of life, we often become slaves to our schedules, losing sight of the present moment. But when we allow ourselves to \u201cwaste time,\u201d we live in the moment, noticing our surroundings, savoring our experiences, appreciating simple pleasures. As mindfulness experts point out, this enhances our quality of life.<\/p>\n Constantly chasing deadlines can lead to burnout and stress. By seemingly \u201cwasting time,\u201d we give ourselves permission to slow down and relax, which is crucial for buffering the demands of daily life and maintaining our mental and physical well-being.<\/p>\n Great ideas often emerge when our minds are allowed to wander. We can unlock our creative potential by stepping away from our immediate tasks and giving ourselves the freedom to simply think or daydream.<\/p>\n Time spent away from our work allows us to reflect on our lives from a broader perspective. We can reassess our priorities, redefine our goals, and gain valuable insights into what truly matters to us.<\/p>\n As I sat back down at my desk that day, late in the afternoon, I felt a profound sense of fulfillment. I was grateful for the reminder that the value of my day should not solely depend on the number of financial statements I prepare or tax returns I complete. It\u2019s also about the laughter, shared moments, and memories I create with my loved ones.<\/p>\n Indeed, the most beautiful things in the world are not seen or touched but felt with the heart.<\/p>\n Doing lots of nothing can sometimes make us fulfilled<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2023","category-fall-2023-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14073"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14447,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14073\/revisions\/14447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Connect with the People Around Us<\/h3>\n
Live in the Moment<\/h3>\n
Invest in Self-Care<\/h3>\n
Foster Creativity<\/h3>\n
Gain Perspective<\/h3>\n
Emil Rem<\/a> is a creative nonfiction writer, an eccentric accountant, and an advocate for overcoming the odds. He is the author of\u00a0Heart of New York <\/em>and Chasing Aphrodite<\/em> An Ismaili Muslim originally from Tanzania, he has faced\u2014and overcome\u2014daunting circumstances all his life, from being raised in foster care in England to emigrating to Canada as a young adult. He is the author of Heart of New York and Chasing Aphrodite<\/a> and has more books in the works. His mission in sharing his stories is to instill hope and inspire people to choose action, resilience, hope, and determination to overcome even the tallest of odds, undaunted.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"