time and self
Over the past two years, it has been difficult to explain precisely what I've done to others because so much of my work has been about thinking and being - rather than doing.
In the context of who I was and am - professionally - like many who have felt the need for change, I needed time to process, reconnect and explore the side of life that for so long I took for granted when I was an entrepreneur-focused on the productivity time loop of living minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, and month by month, - getting things done.
I read a piece recently in the New Yorker, https://lnkd.in/gedbTkr6, and was moved by her life's insights and the depth of Ernaux's work, wisdom, and relevance today, particularly in these times.
Her ideas of around time and transformation - and the self-being transfigured by time (and place) -
"Simple Passion," the passage of time can also be a comfort, even a creative necessity: Naturally, I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written—when only I can see them—from the moment when they will be read by other people, a moment which I feel will never come. By then, I could have had an accident or died; a war or a revolution could have broken out. This delay makes it possible for me to write today like I used to lie in the scorching sun for a whole day at sixteen or make love without contraceptives at twenty: without thinking about the consequences.
"The notion of becoming another woman—of the self transfigured by time—"
When life's chaos forces us to be still, silent awareness builds as the wind blows or rolls in waves, sun burning skin, soaking rain, and feet shift in the sand - and from here, life unfolds again.
If you can, stand still, even for a moment, and give yourself the time to focus on what might not be noticed in times of doing or distraction. Your attention may develop into an awareness of what is for you most changed - and inspire you to set a course for open water.
Learn more about my work helping burned out executives, leaders and entrepreneurs find balance and achieve their dreams - One-on-One and Small Group Coaching Cohorts -
