The awesome value of time
“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.“
-–Lillian Dickson
As you well know, we all have our own likes and dislikes.
For example, my dad loved to fish, and he spent a large percentage of his time on earth sitting on the banks of nearby rivers and ponds doing just that.
But me? Well, I'd rather do just about anything besides sit and keep watch on a fishing line, hoping to get "a bite".
I've often watched as people did things they enjoyed, all the while wondering what they could possibly enjoy about such an activity.
And I'm sure others have thought the same about the things I enjoy as well.
That's the thing about us humans. We all have different things that float our individual boats.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with spending lots of time doing the things we enjoy. After all, that's what life is all about, right?
My dad left this earth almost 21 years ago, and what I wouldn't give to be able to sit beside him on some river bank and watch him wrangle his next catch out of the water and onto the bank.
Not because I enjoy fishing - like I said above, I don't.
I'd love to be sitting there with dad because HE loved fishing. And I love him and miss him dearly.
Sometimes I sit and think about all the opportunities I had to spend time with my dad, but I allowed many of those opportunities to slip away because I wasn't into the things he enjoyed.
Looking back I realize that fishing (and my distaste for it) weren't really important in the grand scheme of things. Time and companionship are the things that really matter.
Just like the coin alluded to in the quote above, we can choose to spend our time building and nurturing relationships with the people we love, or we can choose not to. After all, it's our time and therefore our prerogative to spend it as we see fit.
But always try to remember this...
Once a block of time has slipped away, it's gone forever and there's no getting it back.
Once a loved one has passed on all you'll have throughout the remainder of your earthly life are memories of that person. May you always strive to create plenty of great ones.
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