“I need more margin!”

“How do I gain more margin in my life?”

Is a common question for many using this relatively new ‘buzz’ word.

I need more space – more room – I need more what?  Less, busyness!?!  Margin in this sense seems to refer to time, but it also seems to refer to much more.

Are your days crammed full?  Is every moment absorbed by some activity?  What happened to moments to pause… and observe?

So, imagine with me a different context in which you might have to live your life.

What if there was a “war that tore a whole in the sky”?  “And, the sun came through and burned everything and everybody unless you were lucky to hole up underground or under some solid, concrete cover”?

What if you knew you had a mission?  What if a path was laid out to you, even if it was laid out one step at a time?  Would you follow?  That is what one man did.  Watch this scene from The Book of Eli, and ask yourself, “How much margin does that guy have in his life?”

So, how does one move from no margin in their life to having margin?  Is a “war that tore a hole in the sky” required?  I think not.  But, for most of us we do require some kind of disruption to arrest our attention off the distraction of busyness.  Unless…

Unless, we periodically pause…  And, observe ourselves, our lives, and even our thoughts.

Experiment with this idea:   So do that, if it helps, do it in the context of a “war that tore a hole in the sky” or a 9.0 earthquake with a 70 foot tsunami and nuclear fallout or governments falling to rebels or whole countries going bankrupt.

Or, even in the context of a current disruption you might be experiencing, answer these questions for yourself:

What is essential in my life?  What really matters?  What is my “carry the book out west” purpose?  What if I focused on that?  How much that I do today simply would not matter?  How much margin would I have?

So, pause…

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