A late friend of mine quoted a saying that I like to remember. He said make the most of life because this is no dress rehearsal. He lived life in such a way that he wanted to make the most of his time. Although he did not know how short life would be for him until the last few months of his life, he made sure to optimise each day. He had seen too many of his friends get totally absorbed in work and miss out on family life. He did not want that to happen. He had seen some of his colleagues work so hard that they had no time to enjoy life. Again he did not want that to happen. He had seen some people who spent so much time trying to find themselves, that by the end of their lives they were still lost. He was bound and determined that he would not let that happen to him. My friend tried to balance the demands of work, play, and family and I think he did a good job. When his life was cut short by cancer, he really proved that life was no dress rehearsal.
Time. When you are a child it moves by so slowly. I remember times when I was on school vacation. It was easy to get bored if you didn't make the most of your time. Then as we age, time seems to speed up. In conversation now I can easily say, "Yes I remember when that happened. It was like this," and then suddenly I stop in horror as I realise that was 20, 30, or even 45 years ago. How can that be when I still am 29?
I consider myself a fairly good manager of my time. Each day in my mind I have a list of things that I must do, things I would like to do, things that I don't want to do but should. I try to check off as many of these as possible. Oh sure sometimes emergencies come up and my schedule gets changed. Sometimes a more attractive offer comes along- do I want to see a movie with a friend or clean the toilet. Sometimes I change my mind. Sometimes I re-prioritise. However, in general, I make good use of my time. I don't like to waste it. I know that it is precious.
This coming weekend in my part of Australia, we do get some extra time. You see we set our clocks back an hour. Some people make a big deal of this- we gain an extra hour of sleep. In reality what it means is that for one day I get up a little later but then I have to go to bed a little later. Life doesn't really change all that much other than the fact is that the sun will get up earlier and set earlier in terms of my watch. But just imagine, in one way we are given 169 hours to do things this week, not 168 hours. What an opportunity. For some it might mean an extra hour of work to finish a project. For others it might mean spending an extra hour with family and friends. For some it might mean just an extra hour of sleep on an early Autumn night. What will you do with your extra hour? Blessings.
A late friend of mine quoted a saying that I like to remember. He said make the most of life because this is no dress rehearsal. He lived life in such a way that he wanted to make the most of his time. Although he did not know how short life would be for him until the last few months of his life, he made sure to optimise each day. He had seen too many of his friends get totally absorbed in work and miss out on family life. He did not want that to happen. He had seen some of his colleagues work so hard that they had no time to enjoy life. Again he did not want that to happen. He had seen some people who spent so much time trying to find themselves, that by the end of their lives they were still lost. He was bound and determined that he would not let that happen to him. My friend tried to balance the demands of work, play, and family and I think he did a good job. When his life was cut short by cancer, he really proved that life was no dress rehearsal.
Time. When you are a child it moves by so slowly. I remember times when I was on school vacation. It was easy to get bored if you didn't make the most of your time. Then as we age, time seems to speed up. In conversation now I can easily say, "Yes I remember when that happened. It was like this," and then suddenly I stop in horror as I realise that was 20, 30, or even 45 years ago. How can that be when I still am 29?
I consider myself a fairly good manager of my time. Each day in my mind I have a list of things that I must do, things I would like to do, things that I don't want to do but should. I try to check off as many of these as possible. Oh sure sometimes emergencies come up and my schedule gets changed. Sometimes a more attractive offer comes along- do I want to see a movie with a friend or clean the toilet. Sometimes I change my mind. Sometimes I re-prioritise. However, in general, I make good use of my time. I don't like to waste it. I know that it is precious.
This coming weekend in my part of Australia, we do get some extra time. You see we set our clocks back an hour. Some people make a big deal of this- we gain an extra hour of sleep. In reality what it means is that for one day I get up a little later but then I have to go to bed a little later. Life doesn't really change all that much other than the fact is that the sun will get up earlier and set earlier in terms of my watch. But just imagine, in one way we are given 169 hours to do things this week, not 168 hours. What an opportunity. For some it might mean an extra hour of work to finish a project. For others it might mean spending an extra hour with family and friends. For some it might mean just an extra hour of sleep on an early Autumn night. What will you do with your extra hour? Blessings.
