With the exception of maybe two or three
humans who live on planet Earth, there is one thing that every person around
the world has in common. What we all have in common is ‘time’. It is 60 seconds
in each minute. 60 minutes in each hour. 24 hours in each and every day and 365
days in each year, except if it happens to be a leap year, then its 366 days.
Now, there will be a few who claim that they
are ‘special’ and have ‘more time’ than others, but, regardless of their claims,
it’s not true. What is true is that each person spends their seconds, minutes,
hours and days in different ways, and it is the way a person lives each segment
of time that makes them who they are and what makes them special and the type
of person they are.
A peek down the aisle of your grocery story or
a walk through the local shopping mall will reveal quickly how each individual
spends those precious seconds, minutes and hours each day and it is not the
same for each person. (By the way…are there any “shopping malls left?)
The day I retired I put my briefcase in the
closet and took off my wristwatch and have not worn the watch since, even
despite the fact that it was a retirement gift.
As
each day passed, I realized how time had controlled my life. The constant
schedules of meetings, phone calls and appointments had consumed a great
portion of my life, taking away from family time, vacation trips and time
needed to just relax, or maybe even to mow the lawn.
I have come to understand more clearly, at
this ripe older age, that how a person spends their time often determines the type
of person they become. And I believe that applies to everyone, everyone living
on this planet in any country around the world. No one has more time than
anyone else although some would like you to believe they do.
But the downside is our lack of
understanding of the importance of time and what we do with the time we have.
Yes…. I have made a lot of mistakes throughout my lifetime and now wish that I
had taken an extra minute or two to think about what I was doing at that moment,
consider the possible consequences of what I was doing and maybe change that
behavior in order to become a better person
Unfortunately, it has taken me some time to fully
understand that while each of us has the same number of minutes per day, days
per week and weeks per year and so on, it is what we do with those minutes every
day that make us who we are.
On a more serious note about time, even
without wearing a watch, I have a pretty good idea what time it usually is. My
stomach tells me when its mealtime. The shows on television tell me when it’s
time to go to bed, and the sun shining brightly through the curtains in the
bedroom tell me it’s time to get up. And the moon perched high in the sky tells
me to go back to sleep for a few more minutes.
But given the current trends in electronics and
of course with my cell phone close by or in my pocket, I probably know what
time it is today better than in the past.
It would be foolish of me to say that it is
not important to know what time it is, with doctor and dental appointments and
alike. But what I have discovered today is what do I do with my free time, the
time I don’t work or have appointments or have something else planned. Had I
prepared myself for the future and a time when life would be very different,
the place I am right now?
I need to add something seeming unrelated here,
but I feel important to include. We are currently in a time when living in a
world we once thought we knew has changed. Whether it be the politics of the
time or the pandemic or a crisis of potential environmental changes, it is a
different world and will continue to change. Those who came before us faced many
unsettling situations throughout their history too. But what remains constant
are the 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 24 hours each day and knowing that time is on
our side and will help get through these difficult situations too.
So here is the lesson. I am who I am because
of how I have lived my time in the past. Are there some things I would like to
change? You bet there are and there is nothing stopping me, even today, in
making some changes because I still have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in
and hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 52 weeks in a year.
It’s all about time.
No comments:
Post a Comment