Reflections – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

A week full of work and all kinds of emotions is coming to an end. A couple of them made me reflect deeply on the state, or limit, we can unconsciously reach when we fail to prioritize and value what we find hardest to value: our time. Thinking about time immediately makes me think of the billions of years it took to bring us here, and of how time keeps moving without ever stopping. What can we do to become more aware of time and of what we hold in our hands?

One of the great skills I’ve developed through Coaching (and through my passions in general) is being present, or at least being aware enough to focus all my attention, even for a single minute. As a result, I’ve come to know myself better, love myself more and try to love others much more through something I consider just as valuable as time: my attention. Time and attention are two scarce and EXTREMELY valuable resources. So much so that we can spend hours in front of someone without paying attention to them. We can give them our time (and waste it), yet if we can’t focus all our senses on what they’re telling us and want to tell us, we’ve missed a great chance to make the most of our time.

Another big topic worth reflecting on is the limit of our time. It may sound pessimistic, though it isn’t and shouldn’t be. If anything, meditating on it should make us happy. We forget that we’re born with an expiration date and that sooner or later we’ll leave this world (for those of us who believe, to heaven and eternal life, but leave we will). Every second, minute or hour that passes is one less grain of sand in the hourglass of life. Time is clearly limited and scarce, and nothing earthly we’ve invented can buy it. How do we solve this dilemma? By paying full attention to what we do, who we do it with and who we do it for.

We have to dare to change our perspective on both what we say and what we do. Integrity is a great value that shows up across a wide range, especially in those moments when silence fills every space and allows deep reflection on our actions. For me, one of the great human powers is listening, the kind that lets us see others from their being and understand their language beyond the words they say. It’s time to take the step to think about others, about the world and about how, through the "simple" act of giving our time and attention, we can achieve everything we set out to do.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. This week’s VELA (what I was Watching, Listening to, Reading and Learning):
What I was Watching: El ejercicio lento de lo cotidiano. A very good interview. Two things stood out. First, the power of meditation, a great discipline I discovered long ago and practice every day. Second, I loved this line: "know myself in order to love myself, and if I love myself I can love, because you can only give what you have and know"
– What I was Listening to: La filosofía necesita espacios en la sociedad. Another great interview from the BBVA series, especially for one question put to Dr. Blanco: is philosophy boring? Her answer, built around a metaphor about lentils, made me very happy
– What I was Reading: 12 Rules for Life. I’m rereading Jordan Peterson’s great work, and the deeper I go, the more answers and conclusions I find. I’ve decided to pause his second book until I understand his first masterful work much better (although he did write other books before it)
– What I was Learning: Cocina nicaragüense. One of my favorite channels and probably the one I’ve learned the most recipes from. I’m deeply grateful to Doña María Esther López for the generous spirit of service and sharing that defines her