I ONCE read an article which said that in general people spend less than five per cent of their time doing their activity of choice.

I can’t remember who had written it and I have no idea as to whether this assertion was based on any kind of proper analysis or research. But the idea has stuck with me ever since and it has definitely had an impact on how I try to use my own time. Think about your own typical day and see if the idea resonates with you at all. Most people’s lives are full of obligations that need to be fulfilled. We cook meals, pay bills, go to work, sit in traffic, do the shopping etc because these are things we have to do. Pick any moment of your day and try asking yourself this: “At this moment in time, am I doing the thing I would most want to be doing in the world?” I have done this many times since I read that article, and in all honesty the answer is usually no. In some ways these might feel like a really depressing thought, but at the same time it is completely understandable. We can’t all spend our days based on pure luxury and enjoyment and nothing else.

However, I have come to realise how important it is that we can also give a positive answer to that question at least sometimes.

It is the times when I have been able to give an honest “yes” to that question that have now become the memories that make me smile on a rainy day.

Nowadays I make a conscious effort both to organise moments like these and also to register them in my memory bank when they happen. The most recent was last weekend’s music festival at Powderham Castle.

For anyone who wasn’t there, the event I am talking about was an 80s music festival which had been postponed from May. I was attracted to it because it is a family friendly event which involves dressing up. Something which we all love in our family. We are also big fans of 80s music, so this event was a natural for us.

In actual fact though, the highlight of the weekend for me was not the music or the picnic or even the weather, which was pretty much perfect. The absolute highlight was being in a field surrounded by people genuinely enjoying themselves and having fun.

It was one of those rare occasions where the main emotion present seemed to be one of joy. Wherever you looked people were smiling and laughing, both with people they knew and people they didn’t. There were no limits to the dress code either. Some came in their normal daywear, others were dressed in an 80s theme and still more appeared in fancy dress. I saw Darth Vader, Scooby Doo, several pilots, a few apache Indians, a couple of rubics cubes and a Crayola crayon. Several Adam Ants also turned up in addition to the real one. The point was though, that everyone felt free to be what they wanted to be just for that one day.

No one seemed to be thinking about going to work on Monday or how they were going to pay the mortgage.

People were smiling at each other and dancing the conga in the middle of a field with strangers.

Those of us old enough to remember the 80s first time round were also able to enjoy a whole host of neon-coloured memories. Even if someone hadn’t enjoyed the music at all, just watching the people would have been worth coming for. As I sat in the field with my family eating a picnic, listening to music and looking at all the smiling people around me, it occurred to me that this was one of those moments when I could honestly say that there was nothing else I would rather be doing. And after the couple of years we have just been through, that felt like an important reflection.

An 80s music festival certainly won’t be the answer for everyone reading this – but each person will have their own answer nevertheless. What is yours? When is the last time you caught yourself doing the thing you most wanted to be doing in the world? And even more importantly, how could you go about making sure that there are a few more moments like that in your life?

Whatever your own personal answers might be, I invite you to at least ask the questions.

In a world full of stresses, obligations and a pandemic that hasn’t gone away, it has never been more important to make sure that at least occasionally we all experience the odd moment of pure unbridled joy.