I wrote this several years ago as a post on Facebook.  Was reminded of it again this morning by a friend, and decided it needed to be here.

Everything changes the day you finally realize that yes, there really IS enough time for the most important things in your life. Really. There is. You don’t have to “make time”, or “find time” … you just have to “spend time”.

Here’s the clue: You’re spending it anyway.  You’re spending it anyway.

So spend it wisely.

Wisely.
Intentionally.
Passionately.
Lovingly.
Wholeheartedly.

Spend it on the most important things. Do it. Don’t let yourself get to a point somewhere near the end only to have to look back and say, “I really wish I had spent more time __________”

It’s YOUR time, and the blank is yours to fill in.

Whether you choose to step boldly into a wholehearted and intentional way of being or not, most likely only YOU know the answer. In either case, YOU have to live with the consequences of your choices. Choose wisely, so that when you look back with tear-filled eyes they are tears of joy and gratitude, and not tears of regret for lost opportunities.

How many people do you think will look back in years to come and say, “I really wish I’d spent more time on Social Media”.  Or “watching TV”.  Or “reading mindless fiction”  Or “eating crappy meals and junk food”.  Make every choice count.

How many people will look back in years to come and say, “I really wish I hadn’t been so kind to people.”  or  “I think I spent too much time being pleasant to be around”. or  “I really wish I hadn’t expressed gratitude and love back when I had the opportunity with someone who’s gone now”.   Right. Exactly none.  No one will say that.

Is there someone you need to embrace and tell them you love them? Embrace them.  Tell them.

Is there something you need to write down and save so that it will be there in years to come for others who come after you to read? Write it down.

Is there someone with whom you need to make amends? Make amends.

Is there some activity into which you need to throw yourself more fully? Throw yourself into it.

Is there a “Thank You” that needs to be said, or a gratitude you need acknowledge and express? Express it.

Seize the day?  Hell no.

Seize each moment.

Seize your life.

And know that as Brian Andreas wrote, “Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life”.

Find your courage, lift your voice and make your time here count for something. Make the people in your life feel richer for having known you. Not only the people who are “in” your life. Most especially those people, of course. But also the people you meet casually and who are then gone. Store clerks, service providers, waitresses and waiters, bank tellers, grocery baggers, etc. You never know how much just a little eye contact, or a smile and a kind word might mean to someone who is silently struggling.

Is such a wholehearted level of kindness and intention and engagement possible?

Well, we are human after all, and nobody will ever get it 100% perfectly right ALL of the time. But each of us can live more wholeheartedly and kindly and fully on the planet than we currently do. Each of us can start each day with the goal of making the world better for our passage through it.

I may never love you as perfectly as you deserve to be loved and uplifted. I’m not the one who can do that. But I can try to let whatever measure of love I can summon shine through so you can see it. And to try to do it better today than I did yesterday. And better tomorrow than I did today.  I can make the effort.

I can make the effort each day to let myself be an unstoppable conduit of love to the world. To let that be my very reason for being.

Is it easy? Well, no, but it’s probably easier than you think.

Do you have the time?  Why, yes!

Yes you do.

love,

John