Waiting really shouldn’t be an occupation…things will happen when they will happen and not a minute sooner. That is the way of life; it runs at its own pace. Enjoy as many memories as you can. — Rob Kozak, author of Finding Fatherhood
I enjoy the time passing. I think it’s a privilege to be in friendship with time. — Agnes Varda, Belgian born French film director (1928-2019)
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
You’ve probably heard some form of a saying inscribed on a tombstone with the birth and death date stamped, and in between there’s a tiny dash. All of life is accounted for in that tiny dash. I don’t know if it’s true, but it was as if the Pandemic changed time. The last two years dashed by. And now every day dashes by. In the last month or so we’ve seen graduations and weddings, where those who were children just yesteryear are finishing school and moving away for colleges and jobs and getting their own apartments elsewhere. Did we not just hold them in our arms or take them by the hand for a walk down the sidewalk?
It’s not just the children either. What about those we graduated with some 40-plus years ago, and now we do not recognize them at all. I lost all contact with my high school friends when my parents moved from my hometown; add to that multiple moves of my own. Recently a real go-getter classmate rounded up a list of classmates and created a Facebook group. I recognized almost none of them and wondered if they said that about me. Our times together had passed so quickly.
How we use our fleeting moments was in an article I read. It suggested we consider how we use our time. Many people enjoy social media, though we have to admit it can take up a lot of our life, as can television and other non-productive activities. Not to say some mindless entertainment is probably a good thing but then so is an afternoon nap. Our stage of life factors in how we best use our time.
We all have our priorities. It’s good to take a moment and figure out just what those are and move them to the top of your day. If you were able to plan an ideal day for yourself, what would that look like? Can you do it? If so, make a plan. Designate a time and just do it. You might not want to put it off; could be the time is now.
Simplifying your life, whatever that looks like, can save a lot of time. Whether it’s too much stuff or too many commitments, you don’t want to spend all your time dealing with things you don’t use or need or commitments you don’t want to do.
Lastly, the most important thing to do is to be sure you’re taking care of yourself. Sometimes you think that’s the last thing you have time for but if you don’t, sooner or later you’ll run out of time.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected]
