Life is
short. This can never be emphasized too often for me. Time
is a gift. To have the time to read a good book, write, work on a hobby, be
with family and friends, talk on the phone, visit an older person who may be
alone, spend time with a child who enjoys your company—all those things are
gifts, not only to others but to ourselves. Our souls grow and expand when we
nourish it in these ways, likewise our hearts. In the final analysis, it is not
how many hours we spent at work that will count when we are old. No one will
care when we are eighty years old that we worked sixty hour-weeks. No one will
remember that we did so. If you love your work, you are lucky, but I also think
that those who truly love their work
are also those who understand the work-life balance. They understand the blessings
that they have been given—they treasure those blessings and respect them. There
are many reasons to work overtime for years on end or to constantly tell others
that you are so busy at work that you didn’t have time to call or write or get
in touch. Sometimes it may just be about not wanting to go home—to an unhappy
home, to an empty apartment, or to the overwhelming quiet that will cause one
to reflect on one’s life and on what may be wrong with it. Sometimes
overworking is simply an excuse to not face up to the changes that need to be
made in our lives. Overwork is a panacea, and can be used as a drug to dull the
pain of an unlived life, or a life lived in the shadows or under a ‘bushel
basket’. Let’s make 2012 the year that we step out from under the bushel basket
and shine our light out to the world, the year when we show the world that we love
ourselves enough to share our time, talents, love and compassion, the year when
we make time for others. The world will be a better place for it.
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2011
The gift of time
Christmas is
the season of many gifts, but it is not the material gifts that matter most. What
matters most is the gift of time—making
time for others but also for ourselves--visiting good friends, picking up the
telephone to call friends and family, writing some Christmas cards—in a
nutshell, remembering and even prioritizing others, some of whom may be sad,
lonely, frustrated or just a bit down, and who may perk up a bit because you
got in touch with them. Christmas can make us feel a bit down sometimes;
especially when it seems as though everyone else around you is happy except you.
It is a family holiday, but if you have no family to speak of, or if you and
your family are estranged, what then? Where do you go if you are alone without
family? If friends don’t invite you to their homes, do you sit alone and wallow
in past memories that will only make you sadder? Do you force yourself to go
out and celebrate Christmas with other folks who are alone and perhaps lonely?
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