A day consists of 24 hours. Hours that can be filled with all the activities that one sees fit or needs to fill them with.
I have the luxury at present of not having to ' check in' anywhere at a particular time. The day ( and night) is mine to fill as I see fit or choose.But is that so? Am I free in choosing how long I spend:
- at the dining room table with my morning cuppa and newspaper
- chatting online with friends and family who live far away
- sharing coffee moments with spouse and/or friends
- spending time on my morning rituals
- shopping
- writing my BLOGS
- in the garden
- in the kitchen
- in prayer
- helping others
I regularly hear around me the comment- as soon as I get more time I will ......... !
Where do people think they will GET TIME from?
The time we have is NOW. We can't buy it, store it, pre book it, reserve it, park it. Like the ocean waves that crawl onto the shores every moment of the day and night- time too doesn't stand still.
Biblically speaking: Time is hard to define. For God, time has a different measure than for us mere mortals. In Genesis we learn that He created the world in 6 days and rested the 7th. We can find reference to how ' old' we might become in Psalm 90 v 10.“The days of our years are threescore years and ten . . .”. What does endless mean? How long is that? Have you ever tried to explain to child how long ' forever' is? Time: an elusive, valuable and abstract concept.
Do I use/fill/spend my time well? Do I do it justice?
Recently I wrote about having a clear ( as possible) diary. Not to plan too far in advance. ( in my dutch BLOG) Many moons ago I had made a choice not to plan too far in advance.To keep my commitments restricted to planning no more than 2 weeks in advance. I kept that up for a whole year. That way I felt less ' obliged' to go to or take part in things that, at the time of decision making, seemed appealing or reasonable- but after months had lost their purpose or shine.
It gave me a sense of freedom, of richness. That I bathed in TIME! That I had space to do the things that I felt urged, compelled or invited to do.
Shortly I am to visit my children and grandchildren. I have had, for obvious reasons ( plane tickets and definite dates of departure and arrival), to 'make a plan'. I have had to communicate with my children about the opportunities we would have to do special and 'ordinary' things in that time span. A tight planning one might say but with the flexibility that goes with having young busy families. So yes, there are schedule moments - a necessary thing - added to which we acknowledge that we need to be flexible in our approach. We have the opportunity to ' get as much out of that time together' as we possible can, realising that everything we do- is a gift in time.
Here at home I have resisted the urge to pack my suitcase too soon. This from experience- 'normal' life stops when that suitcase is positioned at or near the door. All one is focussed on is leaving, on what is to come - I started painting the deck around the house yesterday. Needs to be completed before I leave. I only have a few days- the sun is shining, the temperatures are perfect for the task. Carpe Diem! The suitcase packing ceremony will take place at the right moment- and it is something I look forward to doing. At the right time.
I guess, WAITING - is also a 'time' activity. Waiting maybe a way to try to stop the clock- futile as this is- I am going to try and track how often I ' spend' time waiting and how I spend it.
Waiting doesn't necessarily mean - doing nothing. It does create a sense of a void though. Funny how one concept ( Time) can now lead to another thought. WAITING- Hmmmmm, food for thought!
I will no doubt dwell on this sometime in the future...... Not now, I have a deck to paint!
