It’s supposed to heal but a moment in time can break you. It’s the one thing we can’t buy. There is no price on it because it’s invaluable. Yet we squander it away as if we have forever. We remember the moments but not necessarily whole days. Let’s talk about the illusive structure of our lives: Time…
Tick. … Tock. It’s ticking away while we’re ‘busy making other plans’ (John Lennon).
It keeps going indifferent to our problems, our strife, our joy. It can be cruel and unrelenting that way. So, where is yours going? I find myself asking that question often as I glance at the calendar, sipping my morning coffee; Where is the time going?
Isn’t it funny how some days we wish would last forever but they’re gone in what feels like an instant? All you have left are a few photographs to remind you. OR on a normal day we find joy in something so ordinary that the day itself becomes extraordinary.
We remember moments not whole days…I remember years ago, taking a long walk on the beach with my beau and then laying in the sand in the spring sun. It was early March and I still lived on the Prairies where it was snowing and -15 degrees outside. But here on the West Coast (where he lived), Spring had clearly arrived. The novelty of simply laying in the sunshine listening to the waves lap up on the shore in complete silence and complete contentment make that afternoon extraordinary in my memory. We’ve walked on that beach countless times since then and yet it’s that one day that stands out. It was ordinary but extraordinary all at once. I seem to cherish it even more as time passes while other memories blur into one.
Do you have a memory of something that was at the time ordinary but has become one of your fondest memories?
In the meantime, we’re creating our future with each day, one moment at a time…and that’s a GOOD thing as Benjamin Franklin says…
image source; pinterest
“The days go slow but the years go fast.”– Gretchen Rubin- The Happiness Project
No truer statement has been made. Consider motherhood. When your children are babies or toddlers and preschoolers, the days are very looooong. There is little structure except what you make yourself with snack times and naps. There is no school, no recess. But the years, looking back, go by in a blink. Time is funny that way. It plays tricks on you. It seems very slow when suddenly it pulls the rug right out from under your feet leaving you wondering where it went?
Learning to appreciate minutes takes years...truth quote…
image source; Pinterest
When we’re in pain we want time to speed up…I remember wanting time to ‘hurry’ while I was going through my divorce. It seemed to take forever…and it did. It’s over now and I am proof positive that it does eventually end and perhaps ‘forever’ really is an illusion. The bad times will conclude one way or another. Not without some crawling, kicking and scratching. You won’t come out unscathed. Cherish your scars. Wear them like a badge of courage…but I digress.
How many times have we heard this old excuse…I just don’t have time…
“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.”
― Laozi
Time is something we make for the people and things we love.
The essence of time is captured beautifully in this song…
Time can make a hero or a fool of you, depending on how you choose to spend it. One day at a time, it shows in your face whether you’re spending it the way you want or the way someone else wants. ‘Time will tell’ as they say.
I think we can all agree though, it’s a precious commodity. Make sure you’re spending it the way YOU choose. Be careful of people pleasing because it often involves giving your time away with no guarantee you will ultimately please anyone. The only guarantee is your time loss.
If you’re in an unhappy marriage, make a choice to change it. If you can’t make it happy and you’ve tried every avenue, start thinking about the time you’re investing without returns. Is it worth it? Time is the one thing we can’t buy and never get back after we’ve spent it. It’s a non renewable resource. Time is too short to waste in unhappiness.
Dear reader, how and where is your time going?
Need some inspiration to enjoy the simple moments in your life? Find some at Celebrate The Moment
Leave a comment, I LOVE ’em!
Comments are closed.
Design by ThemeShift.
The gold digger
February 8, 2014 at 5:51 amI can’t believe how fast it goes. I don’t feel old, but I am always shocked when I see my neck! And I have learned I better not eat pickles if I don’t want to look like a blowfish the next day.
lisa
February 8, 2014 at 10:03 amHa. As Nora Ephron famously lamented “I feel bad about my neck”. Unfortunately as time passes gravity makes its mark. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Harleena Singh
February 6, 2014 at 5:40 amHi Lisa,
That was lovely indeed 🙂
Yes, time once lost can never be found, so we better make use of the best we have of it before it’s too late. It’s like my Mom used to always say – you will never have enough time for anything, you need to create time for things, and I think she was right!
When we make time for doing things, we make things happen, and if we don’t – they never will. Time is precious and we all must learn to value it.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
lisa
February 6, 2014 at 9:37 amYour Mom was definitely right! ‘creating time’ is the key, you’re right. Thanks, Harleena!
Beverly Diehl
February 5, 2014 at 4:47 pmEven points here. There was a lesson I learned from one of Robert Heinlein’s less popular books, The Number of the Beast, was that it wasn’t the longer pauses and adventures that ate up time, but the super-short bits. So (not that I get many) now when I get a call from a telephone solicitor, I quickly and firmly cut them off, “Sorry, don’t have time, not interested, take me off your list.” I refuse to stay on the line and answer surveys 90% of the time, or reply online… this is time I hoard for things that matter. Spending it with people I love, reading, writing, or even playing a silly game on my phone – the question is whether *I* enjoy it, or whether it earns me money, or is otherwise of value to ME. I don’t give away the thing I have least of in the world, my time, just because somebody asks me for it.
lisa
February 6, 2014 at 9:39 amGood point, Beverly. It’s the little things we do that eat up chunks of time. I like the way you handle those phone solicitors…they’re so annoying. The book you reference sounds interesting. Thanks for stopping by! p.s. I didn’t get a notice of your comment, not sure why.
Jodi Lobozzo Aman
February 5, 2014 at 6:12 amI try to squeeze every drop of every moment. i go with the flow without stressing, and while I am productive, that is not the point. Whatever gets done, gets done. The rest doesn’t matter. I chose people over tasks, but sometimes do the opposite, depending! Lisa, this is a fabulous post! Keep up the good work!
lisa
February 5, 2014 at 8:25 amYou are an awesome example, Jodi! Good for you. I like your attitude “whatever gets done, gets done.” Thanks for stopping by.
My Inner Chick
February 3, 2014 at 3:11 pmSuperb Insight, Lisa.
When I speak about Kay, I say– “It’s been a thousand years, dear, yet it’s been a blink of an eye since I’ve last seen you.”
How can that be? How can time fly and stand still at the same time?
Xxx LOVE.
lisa
February 3, 2014 at 4:28 pmI can only imagine how time must have froze for you and yet it keeps passing like a river. Thanks Kim for sharing. xo
Kelly Hashway
February 3, 2014 at 2:17 pmTime does go quickly. My daughter turns seven this month and I’m not sure how that happened. Of course I’m not sure how I’m not 25 anymore either.
lisa
February 3, 2014 at 4:27 pmNothing like our kids’ birthdays to remind us of the time (years) passing. You look 25 still!
Bart B.
February 3, 2014 at 10:56 amYes, all good points Lisa. It reminds me of an article I read recently about the top five regrets expressed by people on their death bed:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
I didn’t see anything in there about money or toys. I pity the poor misguided who don’t figure it out until it is too late.
lisa
February 3, 2014 at 11:16 amFantastic list, Bart. Thank you for sharing this here! These are great reminders on how to spend time well and make changes when necessary.
Mike
February 3, 2014 at 10:50 amThis was an absolutely fantastic post as it really resonated with me. The essence of time and/or the lack thereof has been front and center in my mindset recently. I absolutely need to work diligently on better time management as well as truly living in the moment. That’s a beautiful song btw! Loved this, Lisa 🙂
lisa
February 3, 2014 at 11:14 amThank you Mike. Both great goals and I am always working on those two time ‘issues’ as well. I’m glad you enjoyed this!