You know, time is a funny thing. I've been spending a lot of it recently thinking about how fast it's going--so fast I can hardly catch my breath! And each year, each month, each day seems to go faster and faster. You ever feel like that? There's so many things that always demand our attention: meetings, errands, kids to pick up or drop off, school assignments due, work, chores, recreation, the list goes on and on. The problem is, as everyone seems to mention, "there's only so many hours in a day" and we can't possibly do it all! So what do we do?
Well, I won't pretend I know how to prioritize your life, and I certainly won't preach to you. All I know is that sometimes it takes a little planning. We only have so long, you know? and each of us wants to make sure our time is wisely spent. Again, I'm not challenging what you do or saying anyone's activities aren't worth their time; I guess this little post is mostly a reminder to myself (and to anyone else who feels time is running away from them) that our time is precious and short, that we all need to take a step back, evaluate the things that occupy our time, and stop and smell the roses every once in a while. Take the time to play with your kids--they need you! Take time to tell someone you love that they mean the world to you. Take time to sit and watch the sun rise or set (or both!) and to just be for a little while. Life is what we make of it--it's our journey. Like my dad always says, it's about the compass, not the clock--it's not about the unforgiving march of time that leaves us wishing we had more, it's about the direction we take and the meaningful things we do and the joys we find along the way.
I hope this week you find time to stop and reflect. I hope you get all the "things you need to do" done, and then get some time to sit and be still. I quote Ferris Bueller in closing:
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!
Much Love,
Elder Spendlove
Priority Map:
Image from: http://komplexify.com/blog/2009/10/17/1t-once-upon-a-time/
Time is pretty important. It's VERY important. I'm one who really likes to take the time to enjoy the small, simple beauties in life. What do you do to help prioritize your time and make room for the important things?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question (I hope others will share their insights too)!
ReplyDeleteMy dad taught me to divide my list of things to do between Urgent/Not Urgent and Important/Not Important. Check out the diagram in the post called "Priority Map" to see an easy way to categorize those things. "I" is what you need to do first, like work or emergencies; "II" is like playing with your dog--important, but you can do it whenever; "III" is busywork, the annoying stuff that demands attention but isn't important; and "IV" is like playing video games and filler stuff.
If we be sure to make time for "I" and "II", we will get most everything we need to do done, and we'll find the stuff we really don't care about falls out of our lives. Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have questions about the Priority Map! :)