I think it happens to most of us, fairly regularly – however, even though it is not a long time, it is often hard to ‘allow’ ourselves to take 10 minutes out.

Why not get up now, move away and take 10 minutes to do something else? Go on! When you come back you will most likely feel rejuvenated and fresh, have a bigger smile on your face and maybe be able to do what you were doing even better.

Here’s ten ideas for taking 10!

1) First on the list is inspired by a friend who takes her colleagues out for a 10 minute ‘sun walk’ at lunchtime when the sun has dared to come through the Brussels clouds. Exercise, vitamin D and a chance to chat about other things with colleagues… win, win, win!!

2) On a rainy day, you can try putting some music on (or headphones) and having a dance! Okay this may not be possible in a busy open plan office (unless of course you can convince your colleagues – flashmob style!).

3) If that seems a bit energetic, even some stretches can make a difference – a few salutes to the sun if you’re familiar with yoga or just some simple stretches.

4) If something calmer is what you need and you have a computer near by, then check out Andy Puddicombe on TED… he may inspire you to do no. 5 tomorrow.. or learn how to juggle.

5) Get some headspace – meditation – 10 minutes a day to a clearer mind and better sleep and…. Get a 10 day free programme here.

6) Make a gratitude list – try making a list of 10 things you are really grateful for. We so often focus on the things that are wrong or we want to change, so taking time to list 10 things in your life that are really great can be pretty refreshing… its amazing the effect this can have! And why stop at 10… just keep on going!

7) Laugh – if you don’t have a great comedian sitting next to you, then try finding some of your favourite comedians on-line. Even better watch with a few colleagues – a group laugh is even better.

8) Draw – take a blank sheet of paper and draw whatever comes to mind – doodle away… no thinking.

9) Music – the power of music is unquestioned. Try putting a piece of classical music on and closing your eyes for a while.

10) Just take an air break – why do the smokers go outside for a break while the non-smokers stay stuck in the office… choose a nice spot not too close to the smokers and go outside just to breathe and change the air or have a chat with a colleague. Guaranteed your brain will feel less foggy afterwards.

Go on. Just take 10.

The post Just take 10 minutes away from your desk appeared first on Brussels Express.

Curator Sigrid Bousset has designed the series Spreek/tijd – Moments of being – Penser le présent to reflect on some of the fundamental questions that determine how we choose to live our lives.

Over the past months there have been talks by German philosopher Rüdiger Safranski and Dutch thinker Joke Hermsen, who have delved into our notions of time. French historian Alain Corbin and the French sociologist David Le Breton explored our relationship with silence. Karen Armstrong, one of the leading commentators in the world in the field of religion, offered a plea for compassion. All the events have taken place at Flagey.

On Sunday October 7th 2018, Professor A.C. Grayling will share his thoughts on how to make the best use of our time, how to make the choice to stop and wonder at what the world has to offer. It is in the context of this talk and the Moments of Being cycle that he speaks with Brussels Express this week.

How do we measure time well spent? How do we know when time has been well spent?

We have a number of different measures, the main one being our own subjective feelings. Many people say it’s the idea of happy time but we have to be careful with that. Happiness is not an emotion but a state in life. If you have a fulfilling job, if you have a good relationship with your spouse, you will have moments of great joy, and others when it feels like going up the hill, but that doesn’t mean having an unhappy life. These are all states one goes through on a daily basis. They can change and that’s fine.

We can say that time well spent is the time that goes toward creating those happy states in life.

Does an individual perhaps experience cognitive dissonance between the desire to stop and wonder, and Western society’s motto of “time is money”?

This question touches on the central notion of time. There are different points to keep in mind.

There is subjective or existential time (the time we experience). For example, if you and I go to the cinema, and you hate the movie, time will seem to slow down for you. Whereas if I like the film, time to me will seem to fly by.

There is public time, which is common and shared. For instance, I’ll talk to you at 10 am tomorrow morning.

What about objective time? There is no such thing as objective time. It’s a construction we create to be able to make sense in our lives, to create a narrative. We may extend it to the future and speculate on how we will feel, what will happen; and to the past, which are the memories we have.

We have a relativistic time, as you may know from Einstein’s theory.

There’s also quantum time. In quantum theory, an electron can be in two places, or in many places at the same time. There might be two different times, one on top of one another. It gets complicated.

For humans, the most important ones in daily life are subjective and public time. And the dissonance you mentioned happens between these two, subjective and public times. A moment of transcendence, an instant of passion, that’s when time seems to either expand or contract. Public time is in very short supply, it makes us feel as if it were always chasing us.

Life and death. Is it necessary to constantly be conscious of one’s mortality to be able to have a happier, fuller life?

We have to be aware that the amount of time we have is limited, by any measure of time. But we don’t need to be thinking about our own deaths constantly. Spinoza said, “The most important meditation there can be is on life not on death.” To learn to philosophize is to learn to die.

You need to have the courage to peer into the fact that you will die, then accept it and live. Every moment you have on this planet you go and live.

The post Time well spent and reflections on life and death – A conversation with A.C. Grayling appeared first on Brussels Express.