Time Well Spent
I was listening to a radio show today on my local NPR station (KQED). The subject matter presented by Forum host Nina Kim was an interview of Shadi Hamid. He is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute. He wrote an article in The Atlantic titled “You’re Better Off Not Knowing”. The basic precept of this article is that listening to news all of the time can leave us physically ill or mentally exhausted. We could find better uses for our time than listening to news all day all the time. He further puts forth that much of the news is beyond our control and impact. An additional reason for finding better use of those hours. For example, as a news person he has not been following the latest Trump saga over his potential indictment. He doesn’t follow this story because it literally has no impact on his life and he has no control over the process or the outcome. I find we indulge in a lot of similar news stories. I have always been fascinated with the Kardashians. Not that I follow them but because so many people do follow them. The Kardashian activities or lack of activities have no impact on our lives or society’s. Trump’s activities are similar. He is not in power, has no ability to pass laws or pen executive orders that would impact me in any way. His legal troubles are out of my control and have no impact. Although I might smile or even laugh if he were to actually be convicted, following news about him is an absolute waste of time. The point of all of this is one might consider being more selective about the things we commit time to. Our life span is approximately 4700 weeks. When you look at it in that way you might be more careful how much time you commit to Trump or Kardashian.
Speaking of a better use of time….
I attended a reunion of sorts at my favorite restaurant in Los Alamos, CA --- Bell’s. A Michelin Star restaurant owned and presented by Daisy and Greg Ryan. The group assembled had been together in the South of France last fall. The dinner prepared by Daisy and her staff and presented by Greg and his staff was amazing. We all felt it was the meal we had expected during our tour of the not so fabulous restaurants curated by the tour organizer. For me it was an interesting comparison in how we related to each other. I did not know anyone except Daisy and Greg when we met in France. Admittedly I can be stand offish as unknown groups tend to make me a little withdrawn. On this occasion we greeted each other as friends, not just friends, but warm friends who had shared more than a moment in time. As I reflect on the aforementioned discussion, I thought of this evening and how worthwhile it was to have taken the trouble to attend. It reminded me that whether the trip was perfect or challenged we shared this experience together. Thus, it gave us a wonderful basis from which to learn more about each other... Many of these people know more about me as many read this blog. That would not have happened without sharing a common experience. Coming together again turned out to be most positive and fulfilling.
Finally, this evening was made more worthwhile by one of our group who took it upon herself to inform us about the philanthropic effort of Daisy and Greg.
Running a restaurant is no easy task and the margins aren’t so great either. However out of the love of food, people and hospitality our hosts for this evening are an example of people extending their reach to help others. Daisy and Greg started an organization named “Feed The Valley”. This effort is to help support those in this agricultural community who are food challenged. It is a not so obvious problem in this seemingly affluent area. Giving this effort a spotlight was the perfect use of time as we gathered around this table enjoying exactly that which many cannot.
How we spend our time is a true-life challenge. As we chew through the time available, we become more aware of the lack of time. I do not care about news that I have no control or have no impact, but I do care about the people I was fortunate enough to share a meal and those that prepared it. This evening was a valuable use of my time and I hope for theirs’s as well.
Con Gratitudine e Amore