Where Have All The Good Times Gone?: Time Freedom, Is It All That?
What is the term? I think it is entropy. This is when a system moves from order to disorder.
(Or in this case, something that is moving eventually comes to a halt).
Yeah, that’s been August for me.
I have let things creep back in.
Yesterday, I wrote about how I let sweets creep back in to the point where I was having them every day this month.
That’s not quite true, but I have had something sweet to eat 18 of 23 days. Ouch.
The other thing I did was start letting podcasts and videos creep back into my life. Not in the “follow the algorithm” way that I used to do before escaping the algorithm,
but I definitely was moving into the “this is what I will do for fun” way of using them.
This is counter to the idea of escaping the algorithm.
It started innocently enough.
I was diving into podcasts and videos about dreams and dream work for research. I am considering signing up for a dream work course of some sort this coming year.
so, I was doing research on different people’s ideas and approaches.
This morning, as I got ready to go for my first walk of the day, I grabbed my headphones and hit the door.
Headphones? For what?
Oh, I have been listening to this podcast about dreams. I decided sometime over the weekend to listen to all the episodes.
Why?
I Must have been thinking, “Oh, this is allowed, because I am learning about dreams and dream work.”
Yes, there is some truth to that, but then this morning …
A huge bird flew towards me as I was leaving my long driveway.
It freaked me out. I saw it land on a branch about 20 feet above me.
It was an owl.
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of it.
It was staring right at me as if it wanted to see if it could figure out a way to eat me. A little unnerving, I must say.
I walked by it, and it swooped down but flew off to my right without attacking.
Phew.
Doop, de doop, I walked out to the road and turned on the next episode of the podcast series. (BTW, 200 episodes of this show are available through Apple, probably more on other platforms.)
Blah, blah, blah. Dah, dah, dah. First walk finished.
Took a break, got a second cup of coffee in my to-go cup, and headed out for the second walk.
Doop, de doop, dah, dah, dah, blah, blah, blah.
done with the second walk.
Wake-up call!!
WTF am I doing?
I have a lot to do this morning before 1pm, and one of those things is writing this blog.
What is the topic? Why aren’t you using your walks to contemplate and come up with ideas, etc.?
Oh, because I had fallen back into digital distraction land.
Jeez.
What does it mean when you are “visited” by an owl?
Meaning, you have a real encounter, an unusual encounter, like the one I did today.
Let’s ask Google Gemini AI, shall we?
Here’s what it said.
At the physical level, it probably means there is abundant prey.
Check.
Or its sleep may have been disturbed. Well, it was about 6:30am, so I think it was heading back to its nest.
At a spiritual level, a meaning level, owls are often linked to:
Seeing past illusions … oh, like my “research” illusion I had fallen into?
A sign of personal transformation or a major life change.
Check. I am definitely in the process of making big changes. At least wanting to do so.
Then I asked what it meant because it was staring at me.
At the physical level, it was probably making a threat assessment. Was I a threat or a competitor in its territory?
At the spiritual level, it can be a “wake-up” call to pay attention, trust my instincts, or acknowledge a truth I have been avoiding.
Uh, yeah, like avoiding digital distractions. Check.
I then asked what it meant that it swooped down and flew away to the right.
It was likely a bluff charge to get me to leave its hunting territory.
At the spiritual level, it can be interpreted as a forceful disruption in my routine. It can be a sign to establish firmer boundaries in my waking life.
Oh, you don’t say?
Check.
You’ll be glad to know I took my third walk without my headphones and got down to living my life in real time.
The fact that it flew to the right can be viewed as a positive omen that, despite the jarring disruption, I am moving in the best direction.
I’ll take it.
Is Time Freedom All It Is Cracked Up To Be?
Is Time Freedom all it is cracked up to be when you get to a post-FIRE state of being?
Yes or no. It depends on how you are using that time.
And this was a wake-up call that it’s time for me to get back to the intentions I have been professing on this blog.
A couple of days ago, I shared the simple daily schedule that I generated with Gemini AI. (See “Accepting Limitations: The Perfect Day and Making Time For Joy.”)
The last couple of days, I have noticed that I am busy from 7am until 1pm doing three big tasks:
Three long walks
Writing and posting a blog article
Rehearsing, and sometimes doing strength exercises while I do it
Those are good things to do, but when do I get around to the other stuff I want to do?
I put a pause on multiple open mic trips per week until I sort out my plans for the coming year. Otherwise, that was one thing I was doing that I want to do … sort of.
My “real” goal is to play several different open mics in several different cities, though, not just a “hey, I went to X number this month” sort of metric.
Without a clear direction, I had drifted back into digital distractions and was using “I’m doing research” as an excuse.
Listening to one podcast after another might be the best thing in the world you can do on any given day.
Perhaps you are stuck at an airport. Perhaps you are sick as a dog and it’s helping you heal. Good reasons.
But it’s not the right answer for me.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more on how things are going to change around here.
The owl has spoken.