Leave your watch at home.
I was leaving for my annual three week vacation and Claire, an IMPACT coach, wished me a good holiday and asked rhetorically,
“I wonder if you will come back and be philosophical like you were last year?”
Well the answer is, “Yes.” I am sitting in the cottage feeling philosophical so I thought I would write about it.
We arrived at the cottage August 9th, I took my watch off and haven’t had it on since. There are clocks all around the cottage, a cool retro green one from the 40’s (my favourite), a clock that says “Victoria Station, c1747”, and the clock on the stove stuck permanently at 1:14. Not one of the clocks really works properly.
Each morning we get up with the sun. Our son always wakes first (he always has). The kids climb into our bed and we all look out the window at the trees and wait for the hummingbirds (there’s a feeder outside our window). After we see a hummingbird, we all get up and putter around making breakfast together. It takes all morning I am sure, but I honestly don’t know. The conversations are great—ranging from discussing “Hotel for Dogs” (latest kids movie) to the “big questions” on life like how many kids our kids are planning to have. Our six year old daughter is planning to have ten. Our son, not to be out done is planning eleven.You are probably thinking, “OK cute but what’s the point?”
Here’s the point, when you leave your watch at home, magical things happen. You accomplish nothing and you accomplish everything. The biggest thing that happens is that you relax and you have long wide ranging conversations. You connect at a deeper level and that connection builds relationships in a way that no timed agenda can.
As I look forward to my last week at the cottage, I realize what a gift it is not having a watch. I have learned so much about those I love without the pressure of time. When we leave next week, I will look for my watch under a pile of makeup and hair products that were also not used. I will also commit to retiring my watch on a regular basis throughout the year. No need to wait for the cottage.
p.s. Interesting blog I came across after writing the blog above. Steve Roseler and I were on exactly the same page at about the same time. He calls it “The Hummingbird Principle.” Check out his blog.
