It is a heavily weighted question one that we need to pause and ask ourselves on a regular basis. We all lament how fast time passes and the way this seems to quicken as we age. TIme is our most valuable commodity yet we exchange it for things that do not hold much value everyday.
- How much time will be spent on activities you enjoy?
- How much will be shared with people you love and love you in return?
- How many moments will be spent acquiring knowledge and wisdom or a new talent or skill?
- How much time today have you set aside to care for your health?
- How many hours will you spend feeding your soul?
- How much time is set aside for chores that have to be done?
- How many precious moments will be squandered waiting?
- How many hours will you exchange in work to earn money?
- How much of is hijacked by things or people you do not care to engage with?
- How much of your time is spent looking back or planning ahead rather than being present?
Every moment matters. Every moment is a choice and all these moments add up to be the totality of our lives. It is the most precious yet most taken for granted commodity there is. Time.
Although we love to measure it and constantly try to manipulate it, our time is largely unaccounted for and completely unpredictable. We usually vacillate between thinking we have all the time in the world to feeling we are running out of time.
We fool ourselves with clocks, alarms, schedules and stop watches that we have a handle on this and manage our time well. But are we really spending our time on what matters?
I think for me and for most of us the answer is no.
If we really considered how little time we have and how many things we can fill it with I think our days would be spent much differently. Women in particular tend to give our time to others, we want to be caring and nice, we want to make everything right for our family and friends often at great personal expense. We fool ourselves into thinking our time will come and we keep putting ourselves and our dreams in the backset. But both men and women put off what they want to do to take care of what they think they have to do and tell themselves they will do what they really want next time. How arrogant and short sighted this is, as if we have the luxury of limitless time. We do not. Each of us has a limit. While our souls are infinite our bodies and this world are not and we cannot predict what the next moment will hold despite our best planning and intentions.
Maybe that is why we take time for granted. It is just too scary to think in terms of the reality of it. Time is immeasurable and invaluable. We cannot fathom it try as we might so we do not think about it. It amazes me how willing we all are to fill it with stuff that is empty and unfulfilling.
I am not immune to this. I put off goals that I had for myself as a young woman using the excuse it would take too much time, getting an advanced degree for instance, seemed like a long road so I settled for a lesser degree that also was far less interesting. I have put many things off in my life like starting my business waiting for the right time. There are so many examples of waiting or of rushing that are a result of a lack of appreciation of the time I have and the clarity to understand I do not know how much more I will get.
This is why I think hitting the pause button is the best thing we can do once in awhile to be sure what we are doing each moment and each day counts. Does this mean we have to spend all our time in series pursuits and impressive accomplishments? Absolutely yes and no. It means we need to evaluate or time to be grateful for it and to use it wisely in a way that best suits us.
People always ask how do you create a happy meaningful life? It is by stringing together happy meaningful moments. Seize the time you have and use it to create the life you want.
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