Happy Monday morning to all. Sorry I have not posted this past week, I have just got back from a wonderful trip visiting Italy and Norway (sorry not sorry, as they say on social media).

This recent time out from my normal routine reinforced why it is important to make both space and time for yourself, your thoughts and your feelings.

As you drink your morning cup of coffee, bite into your toast and prepare to embark on your 8 hour day, can you honestly say to yourself “I make time for me”.

Now, be assured this isn’t one of those Disney like utopian “quit your job today and do what makes you happy” kind of posts, I am fully aware for the majority this is completely unrealistic and only happens in those YouTube videos where the small print to quitting your job is “if you have a nice little trust fund stashed away”.

But ask yourself, are you the sort who spends 70 hours a week at work when they do not need to? Do you find yourself approaching the end of the year still having two weeks of annual leave remaining? When you do take annual leave is it only to fix things around the house or do some life admin? If you had a see-saw to measure your work/life balance, would your work by sky high in the air and your life be dropped deep in the sand?

I know some of you are answering yes, even I have. What I am learning with age is why it is vital for our personal, spiritual and most importantly, creative development to understand what is important in life.

Like seeing this wonderful lake for example…

“You can’t pay the mortgage with lakes” I hear you cry. Imagine that, being tied down to some bricks and mortar shoved in the ground which will one day get destroyed by some sort of natural event. Ever think we were lied to when we hear “life is about getting a job, a mortgage and a few ungrateful kids”?

This year I have been to 5 different countries and didn’t break the bank once (well apart from Oslo, but more about that another time). I have seen places I have never seen before, met people I have never met before and have plenty of wonderful photographic memories which make me happy to be alive. I should have done this years ago, but I was too busy making excuses like “I don’t have time”. We all have plenty of time, we often just use it in the wrong way.

Time out: Here is a picture from Milan.

I am not asking you to make radical life changes, just do one thing different. Go somewhere you have never been before, even if it’s the town next to yours. See something that is different to your daily/weekly/monthly routine. Take that annual leave and work on that photography project you have been telling yourself will be great. If you have kids, drop them off at the grandparents, get in your car and play your favourite childhood songs and remember a time where you were free and thought you would be king/queen of the land.

We are constantly told what is important, but it doesn’t mean it’s important to us. Don’t be a slave until your grave, just so you can go to work, go home, eat dinner, go to sleep repeat.

The world outside of what we know, is always more beautiful. Think about that.

Live life, love life.

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