People who waste my energy invariably waste their own. I guess you could call these people “sinks”.
My first husband, a mega Scorpio and an electrical engineer introduced me to the concept of “sink” and “source” when it comes to energy. He explained there was only so much juice coming from a socket in the wall.
“There’s enough to light up a Christmas tree,” he said. “But if you keep plugging things into that source, the lights on the tree are going to dim.”
I took this in at the time. I have kept a close eye out for “sinks” ever since because I want to be a brightly lit tree rather than something bled out by leeches.
Do you respect a person’s time? What about your own? Do you think these things are connected?
I think that unless one has been self-employed, or had close connection with self-employed people, the true value of work-time isn’t always as clearly defined in one’s mind.
My parents were self-employed, so I grew up with that reference point, and always in my working days felt that to waste time at work – my employer’s time (even though my employer was the government) was tantamount to stealing, because the time I spent at work was bought and paid for.
So yes, I do respect other people’s time. As for my own time – the older I get the more precious it becomes, so I’d better be respectful! 🙂
I LOVE your candor, Elsa!!! I love it, I love it, I love it!
I do not speak unless I have something real important to share. Most everyday I spend in contemplation (meditation is boring) and find that my company is best kept by me.
I’m so like you, Elsa, that when someone calls me it better be about something of substance or I’m gonna tell you that I don’t have time to talk.
My time is extremely important to me (I have an Aquarius Prenatal Eclipse) and limited in this go around.
Oh god, Elsa, you crack me up! Why don’t they go masturbate indeed. I do respect my time and I think by respecting mine, I automatically respect others. Nothing makes me madder than someone who doesn’t give a flit about how they eat up other people’s valuable time. Of course, it’s up to us to just not let them do it. Doctors are notoriously bad about this and I have a limit of 30 min. for sitting in a waiting room. May even make it 15.
My meditation teacher is like this. I went to her for transformational counseling when I was at my wit’s end and her approach was direct.
‘I’m here to help people. You want help, you’ll get it. You want to screw around, I’m not going to help you.’ I wasn’t surprised to learn she was a Sag (I’m Sag ASC).
I’ve thought about this a lot and for me I tag it ‘energy dispersal.’ I can’t afford to have mine dispersed anymore. I like the ‘sink’ metaphor a lot.
And I completely agree with Angela: it is up to us to not let other people eat up our time.
Really, I think the world would be a lot better if people masturbated more.
Charlotte, I agree but they don’t need me for that! 🙂
I would say in the field of services we only get paid for what others don’t want to do, or don’t know how to do by themselves. I work as a translator, so if people knew the languages I translate, I’d have to change my job – no problem. I have learned to not see it as a waste of time as long as I accept to do it and get paid for it. I don’t do my job for free, but I always have the option to translate for a friend or for charity free of charge. It’s always my own decision because it’s my time. In the field of services we actually sell knowledge, time and experience.
What Conny says is true, but sometimes money is not an even trade for time. I would rather help someone who really needs my help or is using my services than just accept payment and not be helpful. As a teacher, this happens a lot to me, students have to be in my class, but don’t really care about what they are learning. I could not care with them, but why would I do that? There’s an exchange of energy and if I can’t get them to care, they had best at least have the decency to not get in the way of the students who do care.
Yes Heather, that’s very right. I have been a teacher for many years, I LOVE it, and I also taught people for less or for free when they didn’t have money and needed my help. It is a little different when you teach at a school, because there is at least a paycheck to expect (I had my own institute and depended on the money to rent the location). But as you said, the satisfaction of helping others and the energy you mention is something no money could ever buy nor pay. It is the main reason for me to think on changing my job and start teaching again.
Thank you for your nice comment and keep enjoying the best job on earth. 🙂
I like the metaphor. “Why don’t they go masturbate,” indeed. Sometimes I feel like people are trying to do that with my attention. :-p Then I sock them.
i don’t know. i have a habit of going out into fuges sometimes. staring off into space and using some disorienting part of my mind.
not when anyone’s depending on me for anything though.
and i have a bad habit of getting caught up in one thing and not noticing other things that really should have my attention. have a hard time stopping something once i get started.
don’t think that’s wasting my time or other people’s, exactly, but perhaps not using it as effectively as i could.