Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Master or Waster? That is the Question...


Time = Life, Therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.  ~~~Alan Lakein

Hey all,

The quote above says it all for me.  I hate, hate, hate wasting time and try and make every minute count.  And as I come down to the last few days in Antwerp, I ponder the time I've had here and wonder what I missed and how I could have done things differently.

Don't get me wrong.  I enjoyed my time here.  I saw great churches, wandered the streets and took thousands of pics of beautiful old buildings.  I drank beer by the gallons, nibbled on some of the best chocolate in the world and even tried the famous Belgium mussels.

I wrote out a book about a beer brewer and a chocolatier--my first historical--and hope to finish that in the next couple weeks.

I traveled out of Antwerp, seeing several other towns here in western Belgium, including Mechelen, Ghent, Brugges and Brussels.

I saw art by the masters, giggled over sculptures and art I'm not sure I would call art.  Listened to some great street performers and walked probably 250 miles as I did all of the above.

So was my visit here successful?  Yes.  I would say very much so.  I tried to take advantage of the time I had here and wring every drop of enjoyment out of my daily meanderings. 

 I did this by scheduling out what I wanted to do and when.  And I tried to follow it as best I could.  But I also gave myself permission to be distracted and do something else when the wind called me!

I do have some regrets.  I would have liked to ride bikes more (couldn't because of the miserable weather), do a castle tour (can't because of time and money), and go to a play or an opera here in town (couldn't because they don't HAVE cultural entertainment here in the summer--go figure).

But overall, I am happy with my time here.  I mastered it, I didn't waste much of it.  And what I did waste, I did as a choice.  Knowing I could never call that moment in time back.  But as Bertrand Russell says...

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

What's your favorite way to waste time?  Let me know in the comments below!  

Until Friday!

Hugs,

CJ England
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8 comments:

The Whistler said...

While thinking of how I waste time a few ideas popped up including games, sports, and sightseeing. However when I think about these none of them really are a waste. I guess I really do not waste a lot of time after all. :)

Ray said...

One of my biggest time wasters is worrying about politics. No matter who gets elected they will just do what their backers want. Other than that, just sitting doing nothing is not really wasting time because I can't stop thinking or imagining at any time I am awake.

Phylis said...

I don't think I would call reading a time waster so sometimes just flipping tv channels. lol There seems to be a compulsion some times to just flip and not land on a station. Could say it's researching for future watching. lol

CJ England said...

Robert, wasting time is an art form. You are an artist. Need I say more? *VBG*

CJ England said...

Worrying about politics, Ray is a time waster, I agree. I wish it DID make a difference. All those people in Washington would be out on their arse!

CJ England said...

Phylis!!!! I'm shocked. A compulsive channel flipper? I'm sure there is medication for that. LOLOLOL

Ray said...

There is a cure. It is called removing batteries from the remote.

CJ England said...

ROTFL Too funny, Ray!!!