BLACKBERRY CIVIL WORKS Blackberry Pie: A Savoury Slice August 2005 Volume 4, Number 1
	Openings: “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.” These words from the Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess harkens back to our youth when the days were always sunny and summer break seemed to stretch on forever. Any time you feel rushed, just hum a few bars of the melody and sink into a more humanly pace.
	Spotlight: The slow easy pace of summer starts to give way to a different rhythm as the first day of the new school year approaches. In aligning with this rhythm, it is important not to identify with it to the degree that the memory of summer’s leisure is erased. The great gift of summer is the experience of living life at a slower pace and still accomplishing your work. With increased activity, it is easy to fall into the trap where being busy is confused with doing business. Polling conducted by the Republican National Committee before last years presidential campaign showed that the most pervasive issue concerning voters was their lack of time. The perception that there is more to accomplish in a day than there is time available has reached the point where it is influencing the outcome of national elections. Within enterprises, this idea, mistakenly fostered through various practises over the past thirty years, has now spilled into the mass consciousness. The reality is that there is always enough time to attend to that which calls you. Taking this statement and making it a matter of faith gives you the ability to sidestep time management issues and find the space to do your work. This is not to imply that time management is unimportant. Rather, it is a request to acknowledge that life consists of more than what the techniques of time management can address. In all aspects of life, there is the opportunity to experience timelessness. In these moments, the intensity of our attention seems to cause time to slow to a stand still or accelerate rapidly. It may be more accurate to state that during these experiences, we step outside of time. In this state, the idea of there not being enough time loses all meaning. While cultivating this experience within your enterprise is not difficult, it does require asking some profound questions. The business addictions de jour are quantity and speed; we want more and we want it faster. Is it acceptable to propose practices and activities that appear to waste time and lead to taking longer to accomplish less? Can you trust that your objectives will be met without controlling all aspects of the strategies? Is the work you are committed to worthy of your full attention? Are you aligned with the direction your enterprise is moving? Besides indicating your relationship with time, these are all questions about freedom. A lack of time is simply an indication of a lack of freedom, and where one freedom is impinged upon, so certainly are others. Developing an enterprise that values freedom—personal, group, physical, mental, and emotional—addresses the causes rather than the symptoms of the problem. With freedom comes an abundance of time. Choosing to act from abundance confirms that there is enough of everything including time. When there is enough time, you can then turn your attention to using it wisely.			Links: Take a break from the ordinary and visit Words At Play, www.wordsatplay.com. The site lets you play with shapes and colours to experience the beauty of words. There is no navigation bar or buttons to push, but it is an interactive website. Take your time and explore without expectation.
				Quote: Poet Carl Sandburg hits upon time’s true value: “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
	Musings: Every day, when I start my workday, the temperature in my office is always the same. Whether it is April, August, or December, I know that when I glance at my desk thermometer in the AM, the reading is never a surprise. What does surprise me is that my dress varies significantly depending on the month. From light cotton sport shirts in the summer to heavy wool ski sweaters in the winter, my apparel varies significantly in its thermal retention. That the temperature does not vary significantly leaves me to wonder what other factors affect my clothing choices. Through the warmer months of the year, the office temperature fluctuates with the outside temperature, as our temperate climate does not necessitate the use of air conditioners. Through the cooler months, heating maintains the office temperature in the comfort zone. Could my body know the difference between natural and artificial heat or perhaps my genetic code is programmed to conserve body heat through the winter? Whatever the cause, at least I do end up being dressed appropriately for the season.
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