{"id":19495,"date":"2012-06-05T06:37:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T10:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=19495"},"modified":"2025-03-06T08:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:10:13","slug":"adjusting-to-sharing-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/adjusting-to-sharing-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Adjusting to sharing space"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Yesterday my roommate was involved in a variety of projects which kept drawing my attention to what he was doing, rather than what I needed to be doing. \u00a0I told him it’s like watching\u00a0the bunny<\/a>\u00a0do one cute thing after another. At at the end of the day — in box still full, calls unreturned, emails unanswered — \u00a0I realize I’ve done nothing all day except follow the flippin bunny. \u00a0And I wonder how I get off schedule? \u00a0My biggest occupational hazard has always been<\/span> feeling as though I have no time to myself.<\/a>\u00a0 As a<\/span> spiritual counselor<\/a>, I connect with dozens of people each week and listen to their challenges and concerns. \u00a0If I’m not mindful, I can allow\u00a0myself to fall into their vibe and let myself get caught up in their tension and worry. \u00a0 If I do it enough, I can slow my income down to a trickle. \u00a0It only ever happens when I just let the hamster wheel run through my head, rather than stepping away and letting myself take time for conscious thought.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I begin to feel I have no time to myself and ask myself why that is, I see I\u2019m the only one to blame.\u00a0 I set the priorities.\u00a0 While I can tell myself it\u2019s more noble to do some visualization on behalf of a client, I\u2019m wrong on several counts.\u00a0 One, they can wait while I take 15 minutes to myself.\u00a0 Two, I\u2019m not as indispensable as I\u2019d like to pretend I think I am.\u00a0 Third, if I am fully engaged in doing something else, I don\u2019t have to deal with my own thoughts just yet.\u00a0 I can keep pushing that to the back of my mind.\u00a0 But pretty soon it\u2019s going to pop to the forefront and I\u2019ll remember that it\u2019s a reminder to check what I\u2019m doing, what I\u2019m thinking and what I\u2019m attracting.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I finally took time last weekend to ponder the elements of why my sleep was so off schedule. \u00a0The last 10 or 20 years my habit has been to work in the office from about dawn until around 2:00pm. \u00a0After that, I’d begin dimming the lights \u00a0and bring some work into the living room where I’d sit in the recliner until I fell asleep for 4-5 hours. \u00a0Then I’d work again until maybe 2:00am and begin it all over again. \u00a0I’d sleep twice a day and it\u00a0kept me fueled for all I had to do.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The difference between then and now is that now when I begin to doze off, I let myself be awakened by the new sounds around me. \u00a0It’s a short window, this being drowsy. \u00a0If there are no outside sound or lights, I fall right asleep. \u00a0Otherwise, I spend those hours getting increasingly drowsy, too sleepy to work but too awake to drift off.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I pondered that since I like to fall asleep in a recliner, maybe the answer was a private sitting area in one end of my bedroom, a place that I could keep dark and quiet. \u00a0I also like to keep the tv on, sound muted, since it has caller id. \u00a0I called Brighthouse and had them install a separate converter box on a tv for that room. \u00a0I created a room divider to separate the sitting area from the bed. \u00a0I have blackout drapes on the window. \u00a0Now all I need to do is stop paying attention to the bunny. \u00a0I’ll get used to it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t need to change my life, I just need to change my perception of my life<\/a><\/strong>
\nA roommate after all these years<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe secret to sleep\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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