Did you ever sit and wonder about the concept of time? It amazes me. Time is something that everyone experiences and cannot control. It is constantly moving forward —never stays still and never moves backward. No one can go back to a previous moment in time. It can come and go quickly and at other times time (pun intended) can move slowly. Time is measured in increments of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. Because sometimes time appears to move quickly (say that 10 times fast), it is something that should not be taken lightly or for granted.
One day when I was driving, I saw a colony of geese. They were paired up with mates and goslings. As I was waiting for them to cross the street, I viewed them differently than most people would. Many people would have been impatient and perhaps I would have been impatient if I had somewhere to be by a certain time, but that wasn’t the case for me. When I sat in my car and thought about the geese, I got a soft spot in my heart for them because of how they cared for one another. They were walking together, the father and mother in front and back and goslings in the middle carefully moving across the street. The interesting thing was they had no concept of time, and it was important to the mother and father that they all made it to the other side of the road. It didn’t matter how long it took. I know, I know some think that geese are annoying because they are arrogant and somewhat messy, but I actually see the beauty in them partly because they have each other’s back and they stick together.
There are times when people look at time negatively especially if you have a job that you do not like. Those eight hours each day seem to drag on forever. Time can be viewed as negative when you are sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to see you, which can be very annoying as I recently experienced. The other day when I was exercising to a high intensity training DVD, the instructor, Cathe Friedrich said, “How come the recovery period seems to go so fast and the work seems to go so slow.” That is very true. Doing the high intensity intervals really seems to move slowly, and the recovery (rest period) seems to move so quickly. Why is that? That’s the way time works – sometimes it appears to move quickly and sometimes it appears to move slowly. However, there are times when we want it to be extended like when spending time with loved ones.
Many of us have lost loved ones through the years and people say things like, “Time heals all wounds” or “In due time, your sadness will go away.” I’m not sure how true those sayings are, but I understand why people say them. They are looking at time in terms of moving through the pain that you may be experiencing. They think that more time helps to put space between your thoughts about your departed loved ones and the pain. It may work for some people and not work for others. It all depends on the person.
Time may help people view their departed loved ones in a more positive light like being able to remember the good times that their loved ones shared with them. Time may help someone laugh as they recall fun moments with their loved ones. When I think of my grandmother, I think of fun times like the summer barbecues, her love of music and dancing and her adoration for her family. Those moments make me smile. A lot of time has gone by since her passing – over 13 years. Time has moved quickly in this instance for me because it’s hard to believe she’s been gone for 13 years already.
Another thing to ponder when understanding the construct of time is the concept of faith, which, as written in the bible is “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). It is my belief that faith is connected with time. The reason I believe this is because each moment when your faith is tested, it helps you understand and believe in God’s power to resolve issues on your behalf in time. Sometimes issues are resolved quickly and other times they are not resolved quickly. For believers know if we have faith, God will work on our behalf to resolve a problem or problems, it will happen in due time.
The connection of time to life is so fascinating to me. From the moment you wake up in the morning, you think about time. Throughout your day, you think about time. And when you prepare yourself for bed, you think about time. Even if you plan to take a day of rest and not do anything specific on a particular day, at some point during the day, time is a factor for us. Simply put, time provides a foundation to completing our day-to-day tasks.
We must capture every moment in time and live life to the fullest because we do not know how much time we have on earth. Time is definitely a blessing to behold, and we all have the same amount of time to work with each day. Time allows you to move yourself into situations from the past, present, and even the future. We should remember to savor every moment as much as we can because once we move past a second, minute or an hour we will never get that time back.
Essentially, it’s important to take a moment to ponder what is going on in your life and make sure you make the most of your time. Don’t waste it. Treat time like it’s a precious metal or a diamond. Time is priceless and we have to make sure that we stay grounded and do things like spend time with our family and friends because as the sayings go, “Time flies when you are having fun” and “Time waits for no one.”
In due time, things happen and although some things happen that we cannot control, do your best to make the most of your time. Don’t allow time to slip away from you without using it to your advantage because time is a precious commodity.
Live, laugh, love, and pray.
God Bless You with Good Health and Wellness,
Antoinette
Antoinette Shar’ron Johnson
“Empowering, inspiring, motivating, and uplifting your mind, body, and soul!”