The Luxury of Time

I think (hope) we all understand that feeling we have enough time is a luxury that we don't understand until we have it.


We talk about this with food a lot. Time to grocery shop, access to high quality food, time to prep and cook, time to learn to prep and cook. But what about the expense of not having time?

We've just completed most of our renovations. These were things we identified a decade ago but didn't prioritize for time. The stuff we paid for was stuff we chose because we didn't want to spend the time on it. Flooring was contracted because we've never done it and it's pretty labour intensive. One contractor was definitely better than the other even though the expense was similar (on square footage). We paid for our gas fireplace to be disconnected but Fred did the rest of the removal. I cut and sewed fabric for Fred to upholster panels.

We ... mostly Fred because he likes it better... are also fixing stuff rather than replacing or sending out for repair. Spotbot hose started leaking? Bought a part on Amazon and replaced. Shower faucet leaking? Bought a part at Home Depot and replaced. Snow covered solar panels? We have time to clear without doing it in the dark before work or rushing to the next task. Our time is labour costs we can save. We're privileged both because we earned enough to be able to save for retirement and because we have the physical ability to be able to do the labour.


The mindfulness movement is an attempt to recognize the value of time. In a time when so many people are sleep deficient I wonder when people are supposed to step back and know themselves. Having enough time is wealth.