The value of time

T’other half and I are starting to plan our next big caravan trip away over the summer months. Well, a plan is a rather lofty word since we tend not to do anything to plan, but we have started making a list of some of the North Island places we want to visit, and the more we talked the more we reminisced on our South Island excursion in the summer of 2016 after his retirement.

We’d only been on the road a matter of days before we learnt that life was something that simply happened if you let it and was no longer a rush controlled by the clock. We ate when we were hungry, we slept when we were tired, we stopped to see the sights and moved on when we’d seen enough. More books were read, and less time was spent on the internet – although that in its own way caused problems. I kept meaning to email people to tell them what we were up to but didn’t and the family complained. I forgot to pay bills and ended up paying a premium for the oversight, and research for my latest book fell completely by the wayside. I was also getting reminders about commitments I’d made to participate in blogs and interviews and hadn’t got around to. It became a fine balance between keeping up with the necessities (bills) and leading the lifestyle we wanted.

With our watches in the drawer, we took each day as it came. We saw trees that were growing long before people came along and destroyed too many of them. We walked over land that is so old there is nothing to compare it to. We watched rivers ebb and flow and that had often changed course, but still relentlessly followed their path to the oceans. It was a lesson in patience and taking our time.

With more time to think, and more time to consider what was important in life, I came to understand that we don’t have to get everything done today. The world won’t end, and the sun will still come up in the morning. It was a refreshing thought. And I still sometimes need a reminder. It works wonderfully when we are travelling but not so much when I’m writing.

Do you know of some idyllic time-wasting spots we should visit on our sojourn?

By Vicky Adin, 

Read more by Vicky here.