Search for source of 'soft time'

Aug 24 2008 by Annabel Sutton, Sunday Sun

A FEW evenings ago, I was wandering back home from our allotment, having spent a peaceful quarter of an hour watering the lettuce, peas, carrots and runner beans.

It was about 8pm. The air was warm, the swallows and swifts glided and dipped in the pink evening sky and, as I walked down the hill swinging my empty watering can, I was overcome by a sense of wellbeing. I felt completely content and at peace. I was just taking my time . . . just being, and enjoying the moment.

Spiritual writer and teacher Gill Edwards describes this kind of experience as “soft time”. Soft time embodies those moments or periods of time when you are completely wrapped up in what you are doing and enter a different, almost timeless world. As she puts it in her book, Pure Bliss, they are “intensely creative and fulfilling periods when everything seems to flow . . . blissful periods of simply relaxing and being in the moment”.

In the hectic life we all seem to lead — with terrifyingly packed schedules, looming deadlines and multi-tasking — it seems to me that soft time is becoming increasingly precious.

What constitutes soft time for you? Is it gazing at a wonderful painting or sculpture? Exploring rock pools or looking for seashells? Luxuriating in a delicious aromatherapy bath? Or being utterly absorbed in a good book? When was the last time you enjoyed some soft time?

To quote Gill Edwards again: “When we live in soft time we feel more present and alive. We tap into our inner wisdom with ease. . . . living in soft time also releases our true potential.”

Don’t let the quest for soft time become an added pressure, but make space for it if you can. Even a few moments can nourish you immensely.

:: ANNABEL SUTTON is a life coach and author of 52 Ways to Handle It — a Life Coaching Year, available from Neal’s Yard Remedies — www.nealsyardremedies.co.uk — at £6.50. To contact Annabel, email annabel@life-designs.co.uk or visit www.life-designs.co.uk