About Time

Time has been on my mind lately. It’s not particularly unusual because I recently had a birthday and that always brings up the subject. What makes it more interesting is how a person’s view of time changes with age.

I used to view time as the enemy. There was never enough of it to pack in my musts, wants, needs and desires. It was too easy to waste, quick to slip away and a crafty thief of uninitiated dreams. It was also filled with predetermined expectations that often conflicted with my will.

Time was not my enemy, I was. The truth is that we have enough time for anything that we truly want.

Time is the universal gift that belongs to each of us regardless of circumstance, gender, race or abilities. Even a person who has limited time to live or who is restricted in their ability to move freely within the bounds of time has the unique freedom to use it to improve, to inform and to correct the direction of their own thought processes. Great literary works have been produced during incarceration, when the authors clearly had no control over circumstance but a lot of time on hand. Some examples are the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dostoyevsky and Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Stephen Hawking is a paraplegic who suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and in defiance of this progressive condition that has robbed him of both physical abilities and his voice, he has married twice, raised a family and become one of the most respected cosmologist’s of all time. He defied the prison of his own body and used his mind to create the life he imagined.

I’m not suggesting that every person can become as significant in their accomplishments as these individuals. I am suggesting that approaching the use of time with the right attitude and a lot of respect can improve anyone’s life condition.

My observation is that time is really static (in a theoretical sense) and it is we that are moving through it. The markers are the solid bodies of the universe…planets, earth, stars. Somewhere in between these solid bodies, there is space to be filled. Time resides in the floes of space and that is where we live, in time. When we come into the world, time has been here before us and when we go out time remains. In this sense, even when the world ends, time will remain. It is only the places, things and events of our own creation that we can not revisit because they are a temporary condition of a very specific place in time that depends entirely on our support. When we move on, they cease to exist in the way that we knew them. Time remains constant and waits for the next tenant.
Scientifically, these thoughts are probably flawed. I am not qualified to say. Philosophically, it makes a lot of sense to me. When you think of all of the gifts that God gave us, certainly time is among them.

So the problem we face is how to be a good tenant in this moment, on this day so that we don’t need to look back and regret what can’t be recovered. Looking forward is one way to cope; making plans for the future, envisioning the things that make you happy and that you are willing to spend your time working to get. By things I mean literally everything that you can imagine…faith, love, relationships, education, money and possessions that mean something to your life. Remembering your past is one thing that can help you prepare for the future, but the trick is to remember it in a useful way as your history. Never limit your dreams for the future by what time holds in your past.

Daily use of a portion of your time to build a future is the only way to ensure a vision. If you would be a singer, sing. If you pursue excellence in your field, strive to perfect. There is no surer path to the goal. If you have obstacles to overcome, exercise your mind and your heart daily by practicing hope, faith and confidence until you climb the mountain, even if the climb is steep and rocky. God is always with you and the place that you are in at this very moment is the place you need to be to realize His purpose for you.

Now there is the moment; the very moment that we are living. What can be done to make it count? I have come to the realization that at least for me, all moments have equal weight in time. Some are filled with elation, some with sorrow, a few with regret, most with love and all with a lingering sense of not being a finished product. Each moment is important, each is a gift to be respected and spent in thoughtful consideration of its value.

Does this mean that every single breath I take must be dedicated to some higher purpose or all is lost? No. It means that I must deliberately determine how to bring value into the space that is mine. I can choose to sleep because it is a pleasurable experience that refreshes my mind and my body. I can choose to read or study, to do the dishes or mop the floors, to call a friend or help a neighbor. I can choose to express my love to the people who are the core of my life, to nurture my garden or to attend to my health. I can choose to relax and just take the time to look around at what my life is right now.

The point is that time is a commodity as solid as a bank account and it works much the same way. What you put in, you get out with interest. Like the bank account, what we can put in is limited by our own resources. The checks we write against our time account won’t bounce, but unwisely spent, they will sap our physical, mental and psychological reserves until they are a shadow of the potential that resides in us from birth.

As usual I have some advice, given with a light but very serious heart.

There is honor in all of the things that you do that are sightly before God and that support or enhance your happiness and well being in this life.

Take time to pray. Even if you don’t hear God’s voice, His will is with you.

Comparing or judging is a waste of precious time that you could use to love or encourage.

You can affect another person’s whole life by a simple word or smile at the right moment.

You should never shape your life to mirror someone else’s standard; creating your own standard is a life’s work. If your life looks too much like someone else’s, whose is it?

This moment does count and it can never be recovered if you change your mind or ignore it.

You are never a finished product and can always use work.

Forgive yourself and move on when you make a mistake.

Stop and smell those proverbial roses, even if it’s on your way to work.

Make the time for all people and things worth your time.

Be in the moment.