“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is important, because
I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes,
this day will be gone forever,
leaving in its place something
that I have traded for it.
I want it to be gain, not loss;
good not evil; success not failure;
in order that I shall not regret
the price I paid for it.
Author Anon
Who has ever felt they had all the time in the world to do everything? Why do we agonize over time so much? Perhaps, if we focus on the present and make peace with what we have accomplished, it wouldn’t terrorize us? “I don’t think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.” W. Somerset Maugham Are we present? Enjoy the poetry and touching story below.
“Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” M. Scott Peck
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
The Importance of Time (a touching short story by Bob Perks: )
A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.”
Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.
“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.
“I loved that old house he lived in.” Jack said. (Contd below)
What do we do to remind ourselves that time is so valuable to us? Then, what do we do about that fact? When I hear someone say “I frittered my time away,” I want to ask them: What would you have done differently? If given those hours again, what would you do? Most of us would do nothing differently. “Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn.” Delmore Schwartz What do we mean by sooner or later, it catches up/burns us…?
“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!” Anthony Robbins
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
“You know, Jack, after your Father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.
“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said, “I wouldn’t be in this business if it wasn’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture…Jack stopped suddenly. (Contd below)
When do we decide we have had enough with our procrastinating ways? Does it even matter to imagine that we’ve spent our busy time on buzzing — aimlessly? I think it is okay to have downtime, to just sit and do nothing. But lets own that nothingness and enjoy it. “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. Do we always have plans for every minute of our day? Really? Think again…
“Realize that now, in this moment of time, you are creating. You are creating your next moment. That is what’s real.” Sara Paddison
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.
“The box is gone,” he said.
“What box?” Mom asked.
“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was, ‘The thing I value most’,” Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said, “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read. (Contd below).
Where do the hours and minutes go when we are having fun? having a horrid time? Why does the clock slow down when we are going through hell? When we take a project and divide it into chunks, the small details finally connect with the big picture. “Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” Lord Chesterfield How does time play out in our lives?
“A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times.” Baltasar Gracian
Musings: How We Spend Our Time…
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The package was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.
Jack took the package out to his car and ripped it open. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.
“Upon my death please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I value most in my life”. A small key was taped to the letter. His heart raced as tears filled his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:
“Jack, Thanks for your time! – Harold Belser.”
“The thing he valued most…was…my time.”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant, asked. “I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. “Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time”. © Bob Perks
For everything, there is a season. A time for every event under heaven…
A time to give birth, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace. – Ecclesiastes 3:1–8
How do we spend our personal time? If we didn’t have commitments to family, jobs, blogs, and heaven knows what, what would we do with our time…? Sleep? Thank you for your time!
♥What are your thoughts? How do you spend your time? Do you wonder if you are making the best use of it? When do you think you’ll ever have the time to do…X? Do share!
♥Happy ♥Get ♥Fit ♥To ♥You! Thank you.
*Please bear with me as I continue to catch up on your blogs and commenting… I make no excuse for time. Thank you all for your patience!
This post was inspired by a prompt from Plinky: How do you spend the majority of your non-work/school time?
Positive Motivation Tip: Time can be tyrannical or helpful… We must master it or make peace with how we use it…
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Candlelight clock, Huldenberg clock, Woolton Woods, Loews Jersey City clock, Cathedral of Muenster astronomical watch, Kyburg Schloss, Baretswill clock, via Wikipedia Or via Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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