Marney Makridakis demonstrates to her readers that a calm, intuitive life of intention is not only possible but imperative: "On the practical level," she writes, "this book will help you to make tangible choices and changes about how you use and perceive time, while on the philosophical level, the tools are geared to work deeply within, unearthing new, uplifting beliefs and ideas about time and life itself."
Creating Time emerged when Makridakis contracted Bell's palsy after the birth of her son and the asymmetry of this disorder awakened her to the imbalance in other areas of her life: "I was never fully present in anything I was doing, existing as a partial person as I exhaustively chased time.... I became determined to apply my best resource (imagination) to my biggest problem (time)." The result is a creative workbook that helps readers become aware of where they spend their time, then shift this attention from external accomplishments to the internal energy and essence of the day in order to incorporate a sense of gratitude into each moment. One exercise, for example, involves pausing briefly every hour and giving thanks for something that occurred in the previous hour. Makridakis believes the more we are able to focus on the present moment, the less concern about time we will have.
Creating Time isn't just a self-help guide, it's also a luminous work of art--and would be a welcome gift to give or receive, as well as a refreshing and engaging choice for book clubs. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics