I recently enjoyed the film “A Man’s Story’, a documentary covering 12 years in the life of fashion designer Ozwald Boateng. It covers highs and lows in his personal and professional life during that period. His life is depicted as being full of continuous motion where he seems to have several projects on at any given time. At one point he appears to be working in Paris and Los Angeles whilst living in London! He certainly knows his passion and fashion seems to fuel him physically, emotionally and spiritually. The problem is passion is not enough to encourage a balanced healthy life.
There are poignant moments in the film when he clearly desires an opportunity to stop and reflect but he is pulled, pushed, driven along by the commitments he’s made and something else deep inside. It takes getting to the end of filming and watching himself on screen for him to reflect a little on his life during the 12 years of filming. Hindsight often makes things clearer.
We may not have our own autobiographical projects but we also need to find ways to spend time reflecting and just being. Constant activity is always about the next thing and does not allow for time to appreciate where we are now.
By stopping for breath we might also notice a conflict in what we say we value and how we actually spend our time. I discuss this in my book An A-Z for your life; discovering and revealing who you are today. Our values need to reflect the time we give to them.
Weekends and holidays can be useful times to punctuate activity although these have become more action packed in recent years. The counselling space is another place to stop, reflect and just be. Sometimes painful experiences such as bereavement, illness or relationship breakdown force us to stop and see things differently.
How do you punctuate your life? When do you take time out to reflect and just be? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
