Hourglass and the wooden elephant

What on earth would be the connection between these two objects, an hourglass and a wooden elephant, you may wonder. One is slender, often used in the context of the figure of women, while the other is quite the opposite. The foot of an elephant can crush the dainty hourglass into smithereens. But, if we try to synthesize two principles that these objects symbolise, it may make our lives even better. 

A few days back, I read a charming story narrated by Paramacharya of Kanchi in his celebrated talks, ‘Deivathin Kural’ or The Voice of God.  

A carpenter was once called to assess the quality of a life-sized wooden elephant especially carved and placed in a temple by an artisan. The carpenter took his young son along as he went to assess the wooden elephant. 

As they approached the carved elephant, his little son got scared and asked his dad not to go near the elephant. I am sure that made the carpenter give full marks to the artisan. He calmly told his son that this was a wooden elephant. The child had an ‘Aha moment’ and realised that the elephant hid the wood. 

In the same way, Advaita tells us that if we look all around us at the people, objects and forms in the world, the essence of all this is pure divinity. But the individual objects and forms cloak and hide the divinity. 

However, when we have an ‘Aha moment’, we realise that everything and everybody is nothing but the one divine. We see divinity peeping out and shining out of every object and organism. 

This realisation instantly clears the residues of negativity, as there is no ‘other’ to abhor or detest. 

If we continue our daily sprint with the clock, without remembering this cardinal truth of oneness, the residue of anger and frustration can really mar our lives and waste precious moments. 

Simultaneously, for a more productive and fulfilling life, we also need to respect and use our time effectively. 

How, then, do we manage our time and always remember this cardinal principle? 

With overflowing ‘to-do’ lists, some timeless insights into time management may make us cope with these better. 

A simple yet powerful prescription for time management is attributed to Eisenhower as well as Stephen Covey.  

Tasks could be classified as Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent but not Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important. 

Follow the DO, DECIDE, DELEGATE and DELETE according to the order of importance and urgency of tasks. As we do this, let’s keep the wooden elephant on our horizon always!  

That will keep us from time and energy sinks of anger and frustration. An audit of our time use may also show our time traps, which can be avoided.  I tried this out some time back and remember how much time I could redeem. Delegating or eliminating unimportant tasks can free the clutter and create space for creative tasks and thinking. 

Furthermore, Mogilner in her research finds that offering your time to others can, strangely, make you feel less rushed.  

As we strut in and out of tasks and meetings at work or home, let us consciously apply these principles of valuing time and seeing the ‘One’ in all. I am trying to practise these, slowly and steadily. This gives us more compassion and keeps us grounded and humane, as we move through our daily chores. 

In the absence of synthesizing both the slender hourglass and the bulky wooden elephant, we may run amok with our tasks, like an elephant on rampage, damaging the fabric of our lives and teams. 

If we cultivate some habits of managing our time better and being self-aware, we may have the hourglass and the wooden elephant efficiently and elegantly carry us through the daily chores and emergencies.