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Time, It Goes Too Fast

Time, it’s the one commodity that each of us have and how we choose to spend it is as unique to the individual as the individual is to the populace.  Like the money in our wallets, time is a limited commodity and often in short supply.   
At an early age, due to a Catholic upbringing, I began to believe most things that impacted me positively were gifts, a belief I still have to this day.  Gifts seemingly come in many different forms with varying degrees of impact.  Some are fleeting and others seem to last a lifetime.  While most gifts appear to be distributed randomly, some of us for example are given the gift of what society deems to be good looks, others are brilliant in mind and others the ability to have a profound effect on people whose lives they touch, time is the one gift given to us all.   
Unfortunately I am not referring to the length of our lifetime.  It seems all of us have lost a loved one whose time was cut short by illness or accident.  I am referring to the rate at which we pass our time here.  We all have sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour and twenty four hours in a day.  This is a constant that applies to every one of us. 
The older I get, the more I realize that there are things that siphon time away from me.  Not much different from how unused electrical appliances drain electricity just because they are plugged in.  When we are young and relatively concern free, every day is an adventure, every day is new and therefore memorable.  As we get older, things start to get in the way of what we once enjoyed.  Instead of life being an adventure it becomes mundane, overridden with tasks and lists of things that need to be done, instead of things we want to do.  Our jobs become stressful and for whatever reason we seem to focus on the stress instead of the things that can affect our mood positively. 
So how do we break free from the stress and drama that seems to be slung at us every day?  For me the answer is easy, I fish!  I love everything about fishing, the smell of the water, the breeze wafting through the trees, the way the sun reflects off the water during the day and the full moon casts shadows at night, the strike on a well placed fly, the way a spinner disappears suddenly as it is inhaled buy a previously unseen predator, the way my daughter holds my hand when we fish together, I love... well, you get the idea.  Fishing to me is memorable.  It breaks me free from the things that get in the way of living.  Because if you, like me, believe this life is a gift then that’s kind of the point isn’t it?   
Someday, before it is all said and done, I think there will be a moment for each of us when we look back on the life we lived and remember how we spent our time here. What we won’t remember are all the menial things that get in the way of truly living, the drama, the stress… the time stealers. To that end I have started asking myself, at the end of each day, “What did I do today that was memorable?  Did I spend my time wisely?” 
This simple change in my bedtime routine has had a profound effect on me.  I find that I now focus on things that might have slipped through the cracks before.  No longer do I stress over work.  I perform my job to the best of my ability and the rest is just filler.  My thoughts are more focused on being happy and positively affecting the lives of my family.  Time has substance and is treasured rather than forgotten.  Seemingly, life no longer gets in the way, rather it is lived, all from a simple change.
I wrote a post on my other blog, The Average Joe Fisherman about change and why it is good.  You can read about it here.  The post, I believe, can be applied to life in general.  The fact of the matter is we need to break out of the mundane, eliminate the drama and free ourselves from the time stealers by any means necessary, because there is nothing worse than looking back at the end wondering where the time went.   
Time, it’s the one commodity that each of us have.  Did you spend your time memorably today?

17 comments:

Ryan said...

Testing the comment section.

Debra said...

Great post Ryan! Enjoyed reading your thoughts on time - and how we spend it. Your reflections are meaningful and give us pause for contemplation.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Debra

http://debrasblogpureandsimple.blogspot.com

Ryan said...

Thank you Debra for taking the time to post a comment... Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

Anonymous said...

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest, time-wasters is Facebook! :) Many people practically live out virtual lives, me included. But I did time in my personal Facebook Anonymous program and I've considerably reduced the amount of time I spend stalking my friends. Now I have more time for real life! Haha

Mary said...

What a wonderful post! It makes such a difference when we live mindfully... What did I do today to use the talents that have been given to me? What have I done today to really connect with the people I've met? These are the questions I try to ask myself each night...

Thank you so much for your very kind comment on my blog! Have a wonderful Christmas!

Ryan said...

Thank you for your kind words Mary. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Chris said...

Nice stuff, Ryan... thanks for making aware of this new blog of yours. If it's half as good as Average Joe, I'm in!

Chris
eatmorebrooktrout.blogspot.com

Ryan said...

Thanks Chris... that is a great compliment!

Stephaine said...

this post makes me remember and re-think what really did I do today. makes me stop for a moment and think if I did something fruitful...
thanks for making me realize things that I did not give importance before.. time passes by as they say but its good to look back and reminisce what has been happening during those times...

Ryan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ryan said...

Thank you Stephaine for leaveing a most excellent comment. =)

Optimal Optimist said...

Great post, Ryan! Love your blog and your mission- I'm so glad you stumbled upon blog and left a comment...it seems like we have a lot in common! I'm your newest follower and look forward to reading more of your posts.

Here's to optimism and building a great blogger frienship! :)

-Vanessa from Optimal Optimist
http://optimaloptimist.blogspot.com

Ryan said...

Thanks Venessa... here's to us! =)

Savira Gupta said...

Wonderful post. We seem to let the simple things go by. Our focus seems to be reaching a point but lessons we learn are in the process of getting to that point.
I came with nothing and will leave with nothing. It is the moments or my actions of today that are important.
Thank you for taking the time to visit and comment. it means alot.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ryan!

I'm so glad you found my blog and now I've found yours... what a beautifully written post. It's like you typed out the thoughts swirling around in my own head... I too have discovered that time certainly flies by the older we get. I remember hearing the "adults" tell me that very same fact when I was a child - but when I was a kid life seemed like it would go on FOREVER... Now I see how true their words were.

The point of life (I believe) is to live with purpose - to do what makes you happy - and to be kind to others... it's all simple really... and like you said - people are NOT going to remember you for material items you owned, etc. - it will be in how you lived your life and how you treated them...

I look forward to many more inspiring posts from you!!!

Take care!
Christine

Ryan said...

YogaSavy and Christine, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. It is nice to know that you both liked my post. I am a fan of both of you. =)

MikeB said...

Great post. Something you wrote reminds me of what Sam Levenson, a former school teacher turned humorist (he died in 1980), said in a book of his that I read several years ago. Something like: When you are on your death bed, you are not going to say, I wish I had spent more time at the office.

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