How often do we consider the concept of time? It’s not something we give much thought to until we’re running late, or when milestone life events occur, or when we’re in our later years of life and feel as though the clock is running out… We have convinced ourselves that the concept of time helps us better manage our daily lives, but do we manage time, or does time manage us? It’s interesting how much control something we can’t see, hear, or touch has over us. “Time” – it tells us when to get up in the morning, when to be at work or school, when we can leave, when to go to bed at night, etc.
How often do we feel as though “Time” is working against us? How often do we feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? Or, as we have gotten older, we find ourselves wishing we had more time to do the things we wanted when we were younger? People often say, “Time goes by faster as you get older.” We all know time is a constant and can’t be sped up or slowed down. As we get older, do we begin to realize our own mortality is getting closer each year and that creates the perception of time going by faster because we feel there are so many things in life we still haven’t done? There is also the opposite… when time seems to drag by slowly, almost excruciatingly slowly. When we experience this, is it because we are engaged in a task or are participating in something we would rather not? Or, are we excited for an upcoming event and are eager for that day to finally arrive? In these instances we might feel as though time is not our friend.
Just because we feel as though time is passing by quickly doesn’t mean it’s associated with something undesirable. Recently my oldest daughter came home on leave while enroute to her next duty station. She was here for almost a full week, yet it seemed like we were returning to the airport just a couple of days after she had arrived. It wasn’t like the days were packed with a bunch of activities; actually there were very few things that were scheduled. In the moment, it seemed like we were enjoying lazy slow days together with no real specific plans, other than going through our family cookbook and cooking some of her favorite recipes. Towards the end of her visit, her younger sister was also here and it seemed like old times, the three of us up to our usual shenanigans. Despite feeling like we were spending lazy days together, her visit came to an end quicker than realized. In this instance, time seemed to go by quickly, but it was in a positive way because it was spent with family that hadn’t been together in a while and doing things we enjoy together.
When we spend time doing things we enjoy or with those we care about, it might seem as though time passes quickly. In these instances, time has been our friend because we’ve been fortunate to create fond memories. If you feel as though time is working against you, try to stop and examine what is going on in your life that is making you feel that way. We don’t have to say yes to every invitation or every request that comes our way, don’t be afraid to decline. In doing so, you might find that you have more time. Time is probably the most precious commodity we have; none of us know how much of it we have and every day we lose a little bit more of it… don’t let time manage you.