Good morning lovelies…..today we’re taking a bit bite out of time and chasing it with a gulp of awareness!
The one thing I know for certain about myself is that I often take time for granted. I break it down into little boxes listed in a date book rather than looking at the big picture. I ignore the fact that the one sure thing in this world is that I will never be able to get back is time. I can’t barter with the universe to give me a little more of it, I can‘t stop the clock in order to make it last longer and I certainly can not press some sort of cosmic pause button in order to put it on hold for a moment. So, the big question then, is why do we use up so much of our time by wasting it?
You and I are busy people, we run around like crazy ladies scheduling just about everything we can think of. We stop just long enough to close our eyes for a few blissful hours and then the alarm clock goes off and the marathon begins again. Then one day we wake up in our mid-forties and wonder how the heck we got here and where the time has gone.
I don’t think I was completely aware of just precious time is until my father passed away a few years ago. He lived well into his seventies but so much of his time here was spent chasing bigger homes, fatter bank accounts and a grander lifestyle. In the end, as we were packing up his belongings to donate them to charity, it hit me right between the eyes that none of those items he had worked so hard for really meant a darned thing, instead, what mattered was the time he gave his family. As I was realizing how much time my dad had squandered on the irrelevant things, I was wildly grateful to be able to look back and know that somehow he did find the time to be there when it mattered most. He never missed a play, a baseball game, family event, and thankfully, most of our dinners were spent with all four of us gathered around the kitchen table. We had wonderful family vacations and movie nights, he was right there to help my mom with Halloween costumes and things around the house. I don’t know how he did it or that he ever really knew how much each of us valued our time as a family, but in the end, I am lucky to be able to say that he was there when it mattered most.
How many of us are guilty of taking time for granted? I certainly am.
It is common for me to work my butt off all day doing all the things that will give me financial security and I literally blink and entire months have gone by and my husband and I have not had a date night. I find myself constantly asking where the time has gone and what do I have to show for it?
Somewhere in between the endless responsibilities and daily grind, we have got to slow it down long enough to appreciate and respect time. Whether it be time with our families, quiet time, ME time, down time, or just five precious minutes of reflection on the day, we need to remind ourselves constantly that time is fleeting, and as dramatic as it sounds, every single second is a gift. All of those THINGS we are working so hard to accumulate are fabulous when it comes to instant gratification and keeping up with the Joneses, but in the end, what will ultimately matter most is how wisely we used our time. Have we spent enough time telling the people around us how much they matter? Have we taken a day off from the on-going to-do list in order to spend some quality time with the people we cherish the most? Are we staying the in moment when we have the time or are we planning the heck out of the next few hours, days and weeks?
We need to cherish time. We need to stay in the moment and celebrate the next five minutes just because we can! We can not stop time or slow it down but we can consciously be aware of what a true blessing it is and never squander one second of it by doing the things that in the end won’t make a shred of difference. What will matter is the time you spent talking with your child, or telling your significant other how much you love them. What will matter is the five minutes you gave yourself to appreciate a beautiful sky or a a quiet cup of tea!
Regardless of how much “stuff” you have, or don’t have, well beyond social status and fancy clothing, or that big job title you have spent so much time working for, in the end what we will each be remembered for is not what we have accumulated, but what we have shared. As you embark on another jam packed day, I hope that you will make a concerted effort to see the tremendous gift of time. I hope that you will try to stop working extra hours, quit taking on more than you can carry, delegate a task or two, and truly savor every blissful moment of your day. Time is priceless, it is something you can take for granted, or something you can choose to consciously embrace. Today would be a fabulous day to begin paying attention to how you are spending your time and what you could be doing differently in order to share your time with the people you love the most.
I wish you a day filled with your version of quality time and the clarity to not take one moment of it for granted!
Heather
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