Why is it that when you are running on a treadmill that 20 minutes seems like an eternity, while 20 minutes doing something that you love, goes by in a blink of the eye?
Why is it that we are so time-conscious even to the point of reading books or taking time management seminars?
Why is it that the older you get, the faster that time seems to fly?
Why is it that the magazine articles that are most popular are those with “time-saving” methods and tips?
We have fast food restaurants, time-saving cooking appliances and devices, and time-saving recipes. We have drive-throughs at banks, dry cleaners, pharmacies, and restaurants. We take short cuts down streets, back roads, and through parking lots to get home quickly.
We now have small computer/electronic devices that we can carry with us so we can have our schedules instantly at our fingertips. We have cellular phones that can be used to return business or personal phone calls, while we are driving.
Okay, enough already! What is my point? It is simply that there are, and always has been, 24 hours in every day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. What has changed for us that we need all of these time-saving devices? Are we in control of our lives, or are we allowing time to control us? Are we rushing so quickly into the future and mourning the lost yesteryears that we forget to be in the present moment?
I experienced a shock while driving home recently, traveling down a road that I have traveled numerous times in the last 6 years. I saw a house that I never realized was there. I found myself gasping at the truth of the matter. I have chosen to live a life on the fast track, fast food, “let’s hurry up and get ‘there’ (wherever that is).” What have I missed seeing that would have given me greater pleasure?
I have to take responsibility for my choices, for they were and are my choices. It has been my choice to take on responsibilities and to reach for higher goals. I can say that I have lived a very full life, but when the sun sets on this person’s life will I say that I have seen the world, when I have had but a glimpse of it? I saw it through a fast moving train, but I can say, “I’ve been there and done that.”
I have seen it, but did I experience it? If you should see me in my car, speeding down the highway, with a fast food sandwich in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, listening to a time management audio tape, and doing exercises, please yell at me. Tell me to stop and enjoy my experiences. Isn’t it about time?
Affirmation for the Week:
I manage my choices and my time and by doing so, I manage to have a “real” life.
Have a timeless week!