Here we go again! The annual “Spring Forward” happened Sunday night. That always seems like a lovely euphemism for “Say goodbye to another hour of critical sleep, sucka!” Doesn’t it? *sigh* My body hasn’t adjusted yet. I could rant some more about this antiquated fall-back spring-forward practice. But, that’s not what I want to blog about today.
Today I want to blog about time. That invisible magical stuff that keeps us ticking, that’s all around us, that defines our existence but can’t be held or touched, bottled, sped up, slowed down, or stopped.
When you really pause to think about it … isn’t “time” weird?
I’m not a rocket scientist [or any kind of scientist]. I’m clueless with math and hopeless with numbers. I can’t expound on “time” as a principle of physics or logic. All I know is that the concept of time is kind of cool, kind of scary, and completely awesome. We can’t “see” it. We can’t touch it. But, it controls and measures everything in our life. We can measure minutes, hours, days, weeks, years – entire centuries passing by as we keep our eyes on watches, clocks and calendars. As we witness sunrises & sunsets. Or, as we notice the “smile lines” growing and deepening on our faces.
But, none of us know exactly how much “time we have” – personally – to keep waking up, to keep watching clocks and calendars and living “here.”
THE TIME YOU HAVE IN JELLY BEANS
THE FORMULA FOR HAPPINESS
Pres. Thomas S. Monson
“How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?” If we live only for tomorrow, we’ll have a lot of empty yesterdays today. Have we been guilty of declaring, “I’ve been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step—tomorrow”? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today. As the familiar hymn teaches:
There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
“Let us ask ourselves the questions: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?” What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace—to have inspired gratitude in another human being.
On Sunday afternoon my younger sister and her daughter were involved in a serious auto accident. In a split second of time their life course was altered. Thankfully, they were granted more time to live on this earth (if you saw the wreckage of the car, you’d wonder how). They are now working the slow healing process from injuries. Today I took the opportunity to alter my routine, change my timetable and realign my priorities a little bit so I could give some assistance. I performed tasks that, for me, were very basic and simple, but impossible for my sister right now. Preparing some meals. Feeding the cat. Doing a load of laundry and general cleaning. Running some errands. In the process, I experienced the truth of President Monson’s counsel about focusing on another human being other than ourselves. I felt happy and peaceful all day. I felt inner contentment. I felt genuinely grateful my sister was allowing me to serve her. Today I was reminded, again, that I need to spend much more time looking for “opportunities right in my way” to do something for someone else.
I invite you to keep an eye out for your own unique opportunities to do something good. From time to time those opportunities might require a little effort or sacrifice, but I think most of the time, our opportunities come as small and simple things that might seem like nothing to us, but could mean the world to someone else.
Today is all we really have. There is no promise of tomorrow. So it is what we do today that counts. Thanks so much for this post. And prayers for your sister and niece.
This blog couldn’t come at a more appropriate time for me (no pun intended). My ex-husband and dear friend, Don, had been in the hospital for 2 weeks for COPD and Afib. He came home to an assisted living facility last Sat. However, he needed more help than they could provide. He really needed rehab, but refused to go. So, I have been staying over there trying mostly to sleep in a recliner, which is almost impossible. Since I’m retired, I have nothing but time on my hands. People can’t understand why I still care for and about my ex-husband, especially since he’s the one who ended the marriage. However, I made a vow to God the day I married him that I would never leave him. He left me, but as long as he’s alive and needs help, I will be there to help him.
I think people need to see other people as human beings. We all make mistakes and have flaws in our personalities that sometimes cause us to be less than desirable, but down inside we all need the same thing, to know that someone cares about us and even loves us. When God looks at us, he doesn’t see all the things we need to change about ourselves, he sees His child and He loves us. If we could look at others with God’s eyes, sometimes our hearts would melt with love for other people.
Holly, you are so right. There’s no better way to spend your time than helping others who need help. No matter who they are.
Wow Lynne – you are an example to us all! (But, don’t forget to spend some time taking care of yourself too, so you have the strength to take care of others)
Before you nominate me for sainthood, I must confess there are many times that I lose my patience with him. He’s a very headstrong man, and I’ve been told I’m that way too. I wouldn’t give in to everything he wanted and, as one of the aides at the home where he lives told me, it’s either Don’s way or the highway. I said exactly, that’s why we’re divorced. I guess she thought I was kidding, and she laughed. I compromised on everything but one thing that was very important to me. He wanted to buy a shotgun to “protect” us. We lived in a very nice part of town and didn’t need a shotgun. I don’t like guns. I’ve heard too many stories on the news about an old man snapping and shooting his wife and then himself. I wasn’t going to be one of those statistics. When I refused to let him have a gun, he divorced me. I still love him, and I will help him as long as God gives me the strength. I finally got him to agree to let the nurses and aides at the home help him at night, so now I’m coming home to sleep and just going over there during the day. I just look at it as visiting an old friend and helping out. Who knows, some day I may need someone to do that for me. I feel sure, if that time ever comes, that God will provide someone for me too.
I know you understand what it means to help those you love, and even those who may not be as loveable. I can tell that you have that in you.
Thank you for sharing; glad your family are OK; only yesterday we were talking about how if we could remember this life is a phase, we might be able to get through things a little better. Take care.
Latter-day Soprano 
Today is all we really have. There is no promise of tomorrow. So it is what we do today that counts. Thanks so much for this post. And prayers for your sister and niece.
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This blog couldn’t come at a more appropriate time for me (no pun intended). My ex-husband and dear friend, Don, had been in the hospital for 2 weeks for COPD and Afib. He came home to an assisted living facility last Sat. However, he needed more help than they could provide. He really needed rehab, but refused to go. So, I have been staying over there trying mostly to sleep in a recliner, which is almost impossible. Since I’m retired, I have nothing but time on my hands. People can’t understand why I still care for and about my ex-husband, especially since he’s the one who ended the marriage. However, I made a vow to God the day I married him that I would never leave him. He left me, but as long as he’s alive and needs help, I will be there to help him.
I think people need to see other people as human beings. We all make mistakes and have flaws in our personalities that sometimes cause us to be less than desirable, but down inside we all need the same thing, to know that someone cares about us and even loves us. When God looks at us, he doesn’t see all the things we need to change about ourselves, he sees His child and He loves us. If we could look at others with God’s eyes, sometimes our hearts would melt with love for other people.
Holly, you are so right. There’s no better way to spend your time than helping others who need help. No matter who they are.
Love you, Lynne
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Wow Lynne – you are an example to us all! (But, don’t forget to spend some time taking care of yourself too, so you have the strength to take care of others)
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Before you nominate me for sainthood, I must confess there are many times that I lose my patience with him. He’s a very headstrong man, and I’ve been told I’m that way too. I wouldn’t give in to everything he wanted and, as one of the aides at the home where he lives told me, it’s either Don’s way or the highway. I said exactly, that’s why we’re divorced. I guess she thought I was kidding, and she laughed. I compromised on everything but one thing that was very important to me. He wanted to buy a shotgun to “protect” us. We lived in a very nice part of town and didn’t need a shotgun. I don’t like guns. I’ve heard too many stories on the news about an old man snapping and shooting his wife and then himself. I wasn’t going to be one of those statistics. When I refused to let him have a gun, he divorced me. I still love him, and I will help him as long as God gives me the strength. I finally got him to agree to let the nurses and aides at the home help him at night, so now I’m coming home to sleep and just going over there during the day. I just look at it as visiting an old friend and helping out. Who knows, some day I may need someone to do that for me. I feel sure, if that time ever comes, that God will provide someone for me too.
I know you understand what it means to help those you love, and even those who may not be as loveable. I can tell that you have that in you.
Love, Lynne
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I hate guns, too. You may not be a saint yet, but you’re definitely a great saint-in-training!
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Thank you for sharing; glad your family are OK; only yesterday we were talking about how if we could remember this life is a phase, we might be able to get through things a little better. Take care.
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So true. An eternal perspective definitely sustains us through the hard times.
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