One

Sometimes the Universe gives us exactly what we need. Scratch that. The Universe always gives us exactly what we need. Sometimes we accept that.

This weekend, I got exactly what I needed: Down time. Going into this Labor Day weekend, I’ll admit that I wasn’t too excited. Many of my friends were heading out of town and I was staying here with few plans. As someone who loves the comfort of plans, this is a less than ideal situation. But as Friday rolled around, I decided that I could get wound up over my lack of plans, or I could take full advantage of my lack of plans and wind down.

I’ll admit that I spent a fair amount of time at my desk cranking out work over the weekend. For the most part, I did it because I knew that writing a few articles would make this coming week infinitely less hectic—so far I was right. And working felt so different than it normally does. Without the constant ding of new e-mails wooshing into my inbox (since no one else was working) and without the pressure of meeting a deadline that very same day, it felt almost…peaceful. I sat there steadily typing away. I wasn’t worried about what time it was or what I needed to do next. It was as if time didn’t matter.

Over the course of the weekend, this no-plans thing took on a life of its own. I filled each moment with exactly what I wanted to do in that particular moment. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “What do I want to do right now?” The answer might surprise you. I got so carried away with the pleasure of answering this question that I couldn’t even commit to plans when plans popped up because I wasn’t sure that’s what I’d want to do when the moment arrived.

Above all, what I needed this weekend was some alone time. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve needed time to recharge. On ski vacations, after days of being in a packed house, I'd instinctively retreat into any empty space I could find in search of a few minutes of inner and outer quiet. Now, I live alone so I thought that I had plenty of alone time, but I don’t. Like the rest of the world, I pack every moment of my day so fully and try to be as productive as I possibly can. Although I may be the only one around, I’m never actually alone.

I realized this weekend that we have to intentionally carve out this time for ourselves every now and then. Fortunately, the Universe handed me exactly that. And for once I accepted it.