Daylight Savings Time

If you’re like most people, daylight savings time just means getting up groggy and hunkering over the table staring at the television over a bowl of cereal.

Yet, if you’ve got young children or a demanding job, the threat of losing an hour of sleep may be just the nudge you need to plan ahead and go to bed earlier. At times, there’s nothing more wonderful, or healthful, than just a bit more time cuddled against your pillow, fast asleep.

If sleep isn’t a first order priority, use that sunlit hour at the end of the day to do something solely for your own pleasure. What would be best to do? Well, give it a little thought; try to short-circuit the impulse to stay in the well-worn tracks of most days. What unusual little delight could you shoehorn into your life for one hour?

Think for a moment of what you most loved to do when you were eight years old. How long has it been since you sat quietly, utterly lost in a book, or drawing, painting, or dancing? If there’s something from the past and the very thought of it warms you with a beam of happiness, that’s your answer. All you’ve got to do is buy a book, some paper or find somewhere you feel free to spin and dance to your heart’s delight.

If that’s not for you, is there something you love to do, but don’t usually have time for: a slow walk through a formal garden bursting with spring buds; a foamy, earth-dark espresso enjoyed at that chic little café nearby; or dallying in a top-drawer bakery, or boutique or florist? Again, if one of these (or something like it) makes your heart sing, you’ve found your answer.

Perhaps it would do your heart good to prepare a meal for yourself (or with your love) with as much joy and care as you did when you first fell in love. Even simple pasta, wine and garlic bread can be raised to a higher art with care, time and attention; ask an Italian.

Daylight Savings may only offer more sunlight, but if you use the possibilities, it could be a way to discover a European secret, when life is lived fully and carefully, then comes a deep satisfaction, a joy and a feeling that all is right in your world. In using your time consciously, you can create a sense of inner peace and fulfillment that will put the state of world in perspective – the moments of your days become your life, and how you spend it is a matter (at times) of choice. And ironically, when we take the time to take care of ourselves, we have the energy to tackle the larger issues that concern us.

Use this lighter hour to love your life, no matter what your current circumstances, and the benefits will last far longer than the sunny months of daylight savings time. In fact, this one hour of awareness may change your life.