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What Are We Giving Time To?


It’s the beginning of a new week, and soon, a new month. Where did the time go? Weren’t we all swimming and grilling and taking vacations just a couple of weeks ago?

Now the kids are all well into the school year. In a few days, it will be Halloween. And incredibly, it’s only 58 days until Christmas.

Someone has said, “Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.”

Well put. Not just a collection of experiences but also their intensity. Those are the moments that give life substance, affirmation, depth. Those are the times we remember.

I attended a couple of birthday parties over the weekend. They were great times with family and friends I love. We shared food and drinks, laughter and fun, warm hugs and memories. There were children rolling in the grass, their tender faces bright with smiles, their small arms extended to receive squeezes and kisses.

There were adult reminiscences, catching up on what’s new with one another, and the easy flow of conversation and friendship.

Those are not just happy times, they are times filled with earnestness and devotion, luminous moments that remind us of the meaning of our journey here. Which is all about human connections, sharing, and love.

The Indian mystic and poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote that we should not give time to querulous people who will take time from us so that in the end we leave "Time’s altar empty of all offerings that last.”

These are days filled with this sort of time stealing. American society is locked in a battle against the abuse of time, a battle where time is wasted in petulant acrimony, endless arguing, and the failed attempts to express ourselves in ways that actually inspire and move others into more thoughtful thinking and acting.

The Buddhists tell the story of a young boy who asks an old man how old he is. The man says he is four years old. The boy is shocked and looking at him he says, “But your hair is so white, and you carry a cane. How can you be only four?” The old man smiled and said, “In the past, I lived a wasteful life. I was selfish and preoccupied. I was bitter and unhappy. Four years ago, I gained new insights into myself and into life. I learned to do good and be helpful. I decided to rid myself of greed, hatred, and ignorance. I knew I possessed a better nature and I wanted to live by it. Four years ago, I discovered value, meaning, and fulfillment by choosing to do better. That is why I am only four years old.”

We never get too old to discover how precious our existence can be. We never get too old to decide to fill it with a collection of experiences and intensity that give time such quality and purpose that our life journey will leave footprints and laughter and affection in the dreams of all we love.

© 2019 Timothy Moody

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