The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run. – Henry David Thoreau
I’ve been thinking about the cost of things lately – specifically, the cost of time. We all talk about spending our time, but do we really realize that we are…spending our time? Are we spending it the way we really want to? Who are we spending it on? How much of our time do we give to ourselves? To our dreams?
It’s worth pondering, since it’s something we can never buy back.
Each of us are alloted a specific amount of time, the problem is none of us knows how much time we have…and living day after day, year after year sometimes it feels like we have an unlimited supply. You know those moments that feel like they’ll never end. They do. All moments end.
Time is a very special gift from God; so precious that it is only given to us moment by moment. – Amelia Barr
We all learn something about money, but little of us ever learn much about time. Sure we may hear or say things like time is money or that was time well spent or you’re wasting your time. But do we really think about time as the amount of life we are spending?
Life is a temporary situation.
On the upside, it’s possible that I have more than half of the time of my life left to spend. On the flipside – well, let’s say that possibility got me asking some pertinent questions.
How am I spending my time vs. how do I want to spend my time? Who am I spending it on? Am I giving myself enough time? Am I spending time on my dreams? Am I giving my children the best part of me when I spend my time with them? How much of my time is spent in my head – thinking? How much of my time do I give freely to others? Am I making a difference with my time? Do I care about my time? Am I paying a high price for my time? Because the price is my life. What are the true costs of things? How much of my life is spent on collecting and maintaining things? How much energy goes into my time? Okay, okay, I’m going to stop now…
I often get caught up in the doing of life rather than the living of it. So, I wanted a reminder. I wanted to contemplate this time/life/cost scenario, then get out of my head and into my life. Here’s my little reminder of what I’m ‘up to’ or what I’m ‘aspiring to’ as I spend the time of my life.
I’m going to fill it with wonder and awe. My favorite places to find wonder and awe are in nature, with animals, babies, children and in all forms of art. Kids are unique in this list because they can talk and everything to them is amazing and cool. They want to know how things work, they ask the best questions and say the silliest things. Wonder and awe are found in these things because they are present or were created in the moment. So, if you’re looking for wonder and awe – you can’t be wandering about in your head ruminating about the past or planning the illusion of your future. You have to be here – NOW. And then – wonder and awe are everywhere.
I’m also spending it on things that give it meaning. Seeking things that enrich it. Things inspire me. That make me love and fill my breath. Things that feed my mind, widen my smile, push me to risk and teach me to be vulnerable. Things that extend hope, overflow my heart, nourish my generosity and give birth to more dreams. For anything that provokes me to laughter and convinces me -I can. And lastly, for all things that plead to be created.
I’m aspiring to all these things, because when I’m done spending my time, I want to have experienced my life.
So, now what? Now that I understand that time is precious and I never want to waste a single moment? Now, well…it’s late, and I’m going to go spend my precious moments doing one of my favorite things — dreaming.
