I was fastening my seat belt and getting ready to land after a long haul international flight when my attention was caught by the announcement of spare change. The airline was collecting spare change . . . coins in any currency for charity to feed under-privileged children. I quickly and mindlessly looked in my wallet and came up with a few dimes and nickels. I hurriedly threw them in the envelope and handed to the hostess, feeling good about my generous gesture! The plane landed and I reached my destination, quickly getting back into the motion of things; however, the fleeting feeling of doing something good remained. And I felt I should have put in the dollar bill too along with the coins for a better donation! Then I started thinking how much does this airline usually collect and how many mouths are actually fed? In my contemplation, I thought of my spare change over the years and how many kids I could have helped? My thoughts kept racing and I asked myself a question – why just the spare change or other spare material things?  What about my spare time, the under-valued “spare change” of my life?

What do we do with our spare time, our spare breathes? I like most of us find enough time, which can be called “spare” after all the work is done for living, recreation and occasional philanthropy. So how do I spend this spare time? I have always under-valued it and find myself in front of the tv or viewing social media or playing mindless solitaire or just chatting with friends. Like spare change can spare time or spare breathes be put to good use? After all our life is finite!

“Leisure time or spare time is the only time for personal growth and progress. This is when one can refine one’s dormant attributes and make it the most creative and rewarding time.” These lines from a recent read resonated in my mind and I decided to experiment without making any major lifestyle changes or leaving my comfort zone. I started with a self-created one week mental detox that I am sharing here.

• I consciously decided to wisely use the spare/leisure time for myself.
• I limited tv viewing and other time being spent on mindless social media, gossiping etc.
• I kept a daily journal to be more cognizant of the spare time and my activities. I quickly noted how much time I might have during the day and what could I do? Somedays it was mere 10 minutes that I utilized.
• I consciously created something new every day. Some examples are, decluttered, cleaned and organized my work space. Cooked a new dish, potted new plants, painted,  wrote, learnt knitting and some new dance moves!

At the end of the week’s mental detox I was calmer and more focused. My irritability and restlessness had vanished and a sense of general well-being emerged. I looked forward to the daily newness in my routine. This increased my productivity and my approach towards my job and other mundane chores. My being radiated with a spark of freshness (I now regularly incorporate the mental detox). My spare time creativity culminated into a donation of some hand-painted pots and greeting cards to the local hospital.

This discovery of my leisure time has become a valuable gift to me. It is the spare change in the piggy bank of life which may slowly culminate towards a quantum leap of personal growth. This spare time helps me focus, contemplate and center myself. The leisure time can be utilized in multiple ways, so go for it, try your mental detox today, as sky is the limit!

This life style change is inspired by the writings of Meena Om author of Growth, Glory and Grace and her other writings by Pranam Foundation.