Whose time is it anyway?

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." -- Bertrand Russell

Oh, great day in the morning! I love this!

I've never been a fan of the "live each day as if it's your last" philosophy. I realize part of the idea behind this is not to have regrets, but there also seems to be an implication that you've got to cram all sorts of activities into your day because you may not get the chance tomorrow. Anything like, oh, say watching TV or reading a book, or simply staring out the window thinking? Oh, geez, you're wasting your valuable, limited time!

Then I saw an older woman profiled on TV who was about to set off on a canoe trip in the far north. She was, I believe, in her 80's. Certainly not young, anyway. And she said her philosophy of life was, "Live each day as if you're going to live forever."

Now this I can get into.

I've been stressed from too much busy-ness (and business), and I've realized it's no way for me to live. I don't get a pleasant rush from the rushing, as some people do. And some people really enjoy having lots to do; the idea of sitting and looking out the window would be a horror to them. I get that. But the only thing being busy-busy-busy did for me was stress me out and make me miserable.

So I'm now firmly in the category of doing what I want with my spare time. I've got obligations and a family, so it's not like I'm wallowing in a bubble bath eating bon-bons. It means I don't feel guilty if I want to watch television (even that rerun of a Law and Order episode I've seen ten times -- if Lenny's in it, I'm there!), or see a movie, or read People magazine instead of the latest literary masterpiece. I relax, I de-stress, I rest and regroup.

Wasted? I don't think so. I'm with Bertrand Russell all the way on this.