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<back | home Becoming More Efficient in Using our Time for Our Soul's Purpose (or Activism) by Bob Banner Some people have asked me to write about how I can do so many things and do them without burning out. First, I’m flattered because basically I sense that I’m quite lazy and lounge around in distractions for long periods of time. So, that being said, I will jot down a few things I have noticed about my work habits that some may find useful. 1. Most of the time I only do things I love doing... but then again, love is such a ubiquitous term that I ought to say, “fulfill my soul’s purpose” and leave it at that. To define a soul’s purpose would be another essay altogether. It becomes such an emotional drain to work on something one dislikes or what one is supposed to do. But here is the irony. If you know your soul’s purpose, and if the specific task at hand is something you “dislike,” you will soon get over it, since soul’s purpose, at least in my mind, is much greater than our aversion to things we dislike. 2. I have discovered that I have limited my friendships to people who truly nourish me. If certain people wish to attack me, suck up to me or simply are playing out a certain psychodrama (that would be more helpful by paying a psychotherapist) I prefer to be somewhere else and doing something else. But heh, that’s just me! Emotional dramas are extremely low on my self-abuse chart. I do that enough myself. Why have two people suffering? 3. I write a priority list of things to do, sometimes 2-3 times a day. At n ight I go through the list and check off the tasks I completed and then add some more as they enter my mind. I keep a weekly journal for my window washing jobs, a notebook for all the ideas that come to me about HopeDance and the things-to-do list, a phone book of important numbers. Try to avoid writing notes on separate pieces of paper. You will soon discover how much a drain it is continually looking for those scraps. Of course I use the computer’s database for subscriptions, advertisers, email lists, window washing clients, etc. 4. I don’t have a usual life as in an 8-5 work schedule, or play sports, make babies, love/nurture/discipline children, spend time with relatives, gossip about what’s happening with Judy and Frank’s marriage, go to Hollywood movies, or eat at expensive restaurants. I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs so distracting myself has become quite minimal these days. Currently I don’t have a lover.... That may or may not be conducive to one’s soul’s purpose. I did have a lover and suddenly I discovered I actually had more time for my soul’s purpose than before, when my days were spent looking for a woman or feeling the continual rejection. Boy! that poor-me victimization can really chop away at the time, let alone one’s soul purpose. And for people who are feeling irritated at the term soul’s purpose, go ahead and substitute something else, like right livelihood, or purpose, or one’s inner journey manifesting into the world. Go for it. 5. When I’m working on a project I try to focus on it for a good period of time so I can appreciate all its nuances and talk to people who are involved in a similar project to get feedback, etc. The focusing is such an important key, since your energy is concentrated like a laser beam, and you can draw even more energy from that creative source. It’s great when it happens, but its something that is cultivated. I’ve heard that creative genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. So if you find yourself spacing-out imagining that you are meditating and focusing, throw some cold water on your face and get to work. But again, that’s just me. 6. I try to cultivate friendships that I intuit are complementary to my purpose and cut off those that I trust do not. 7. I allow myself to trust more and more. Trusting the projects I do, working with the people, finding the places, the films, the books, the articles, etc. So much of this efficiency goes back to this simple act of trusting; or sometimes I call it listening with my entire being and trying to discern what is garbage, my own inner garbage, my own lashing out from psychological wounds, and what is clearly coming from a source I’m trusting more and more. I mean, you could do a study and pay attention to when you are clear with a project and when you are not and figure out what you need to do: fire somebody, try another venue, whatever. When you trust a project complements your purpose and you are continually listening well to your intuition, then the efficiency mode is remarkable. If it’s not, it will be a drain and will seem like it’s taking forever. 8. The balance between needed money and your “soul’s purpose,” ought to be formulated soon so your time is spent proportionally and appropriately. You certainly wouldn’t want to be doing your soul’s purpose knowing that the rent is not being handled. I know a guy who decided he would dig into his soul’s purpose and forget about the money situation. Well, within a month he racked up $5,000 worth of bills. Duh. Of course, tragedies or accidents cannot be foreseen, but it’s good to be able to chart out what you really need to live on to be somewhat comfortable but at the same time making sure you have the available time to do what you need to do for your soul. There are so many people who complain about not having enough money to do what they truly need to be doing. But when I see them buying a new car or traveling or going out to dinner, my sympathy for them runs out quickly. They have no right to complain if their priorities are skewed. And, of course, I know people who have tons of money who don’t have aclue as to their purpose, and when something goes wrong like being laid off, they are the first to scream “poverty.” With those people I recommend the book “The Poverty of Affluence.” Especially in these times when activism is so vitally needed, it is imperative that people get their finances in order so they can do the necessary social change work. We cannot depend on the government or corporations. There is so much to do and so little time, that we must get focused. 9. We need to be acutely aware of how we use our time. I’m not speaking of becoming masters of multi-tasking but of being attentive to what we are doing and how. Are we happy in this situation? Are we tolerating a relationship? Have I truly expressed my needs in this situation? How can I be the most creative in this moment? Only you can answer these questions. If I’m trapped listening to an obsessed person who is clueless about my needs, if I’m not capable of listening to this any further, I simply excuse myself as politely as possible. We’ve got to get a handle on this: knowing if the person we are speaking to really wants to reciprocate and listen to us! Often there is mutual monologuing going on and it’s not going anywhere, unless, of course, you want to use real human beings as your props for your monologues. We have got to check in periodically with the other so we know a dialogue is actually occurring. Why waste your time monologuing? If you like to monologue, then you ought to write like I’m doing now. No one can interrupt. I don’t need to check in. I just hope the words are clear so when you have the time to read them, they just might mean something and be of use. If you can be more artfully connected to a piece of canvas or a musical instrument and make more potential social change in that context rather than attend a meeting, I say go for it. This progressive movement that is in shambles right now does not need more tight-assed, tight-lipped revolutionaries who truly are not enjoying themselves. That is why I focus so much attention on finding something you love to do and make it a natural tie-in to any service or activist type of work. If it ain’t love, then you will not be able to sustain yourselves when the going gets truly tough. 10. This process is not going to be accomplished in a weekend seminar. It’s an evolution of awareness and purpose. But I sense that both grow as you cultivate them. You cultivate them by giving yourself attention. Some will call it love, but love is too vague. One specific definition of love is the attention we give something or someone. Just look around and see how much we crave attention from others! How about giving some to ourselves so we will have the capacity to give it to others. Hmm, I guess that’s what the cliché means: Love yourself before you can love others. 11. Take time out for retreats, workshops, conferences, long hikes, long bicycle rides either to listen to your soul’s needs or to interact with people, to listen to their stories, needs, dreams, anger, visions, emergencies, etc. 12. Giving to your community is actually giving to yourself. Yes, folks, that is a secret that needs to be out in the open. We have been inundated with the opposite message that by consuming we will achieve happiness. Sorry, it’s not working; even though we work at it harder and harder, buying more stuff, trying to make up for the long hours of work we engage in. Service, genuine service, to the community will bring happiness, whether it’s as a citizen, an activist or volunteer of the abundant organizations that need you. And giving is also therapeutic! People complain to me, saying that they are not ready to start giving or acting as an activist, that they have too many psychological problems or traumatic wounds to deal with before they can be an actual asset. In some cases I agree. But in other cases, if you don’t start now, you never will... because your mind can always lapse into the inner drama that you are not worthy. When they do get involved, they will often heal themselves unknowingly while doing the service work! It happens simultaneously. You help people, you help yourself. Why isn’t that a selling mantra on every billboard? Hmmmm, because there isn’t anything to sell, and the therapists would be out of business!! Wow, when you really take a look at this culture, it begins to look scary, when you see that it’s in no one’s interest for you to wake up. Once you do, you are certainly not a big-time consumer and your needs get finely tuned. That’s why we need to look seriously at the types of jobs or careers that will be available when more and more people wake up. Do you wanna work on that factory line producing things that will land in the landfill or create substantial products that will feed us when the oil runs out? Sorry, I digress. Hope you are still with me. I hope you didn’t politely excuse yourself from my words. Actually, it comes down to the theory that most of our psychological peculiarities or challenges are due to our narcissistic obsession with ourselves -- and the more we obsess about ourselves the more acute the damage becomes -- one never-ending road to hell. Please see the film “What the Bleep Do We Know?” If one can step outside oneself and become of service to a group, organization or cause, a perpetual habit of self absorption will chip away. Delusion and illusion will fall away and Reality will slowly emerge. When this happens, not only is happiness a great side effect, but one’s energy is unstoppable and contagious. Try it. An activist from Seattle told me recently that his friend who has awakened recently due to the Bush debacle has exploded into activities. Burning out? No way. He calls it “overwhelmed and happy!” Bob Banner owns The Window Washers in SLO County; 544-9663. <back | top^ |