Inspiration: Time’s Greatest Gift Is Perspective…
“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever…” Isak Dinesen
Inspiration: Time's Greatest Gift Is Perspective...
Inspiration: Time's Greatest Gift Is Perspective...
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t
own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep
it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it
you can never get it back.” Harvey MacKay
What wisdom have you learned from/about Time? How has it helped you? Do you believe, as Seneca suggests, that “Time discovers truth.”? When I was a little girl, we had, in our living room, a cardboard cut out of an elderly man, hunched over, wearing a loin cloth, cigar in one hand and walking stick in the other. He trudged along with a pained smile on his face. At the base of the cutout were the following words: Amala Dede. No leave, no transfer. Better to be late than … the late. Amala Dede never had time off, vacation, illness or even a moment to just sit and unwind. Though dressed in native garb, he was a man ahead of his time… He belonged in the modern world of stressed out suits. Something about that piece of art struck me as a child and has stayed with me all these years… I often wondered: Why won’t he put the walking stick down and relax? He didn’t think he had the time to take time out… At least that was his perspective.
“We don’t have an eternity to realize our dreams, only the time we are here.” Susan Taylor
Inspiration: Time's Greatest Gift Is Perspective...
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs
We’ve all heard the line that time is ephemeral and must be lived well… So why do we continue to stress over something that moves forward regardless of our point of view? If time is fleeting, then a lesson it teaches us is to enjoy the moment, the here and now, the spontaneous calling of our heart. For one, time offers us the perspective that we must seize the opportunity that floats our way and use it wisely. If the prompting is to stop and rest, then we must. If it is to increase our activity to meet a project deadline, we must do so too. We have equal, more or less limited, real time with many other people and how we use it must matter to us. While some of us see time as a speedboat hurtling forward; deftly avoiding a collision, others see it as a ferry ride cruising along at the perfect altitude; no rush, no hurry, everything in its own good time… each perspective different than the last… Gratefully, we can modify ours and adopt a time perspective that will help us grow. What do you do with your time? Enjoy your Good Friday & Easter weekend! More below. 😉
“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.” Henry David Thoreau
Inspiration: Time's Greatest Gift Is Perspective...
“I cannot promise very much.
I give you the images I know.
Lie still with me and watch.
We laugh and we touch.
I promise you love.
Time will not take that away.” Anne Sexton
So yesterday, as I drove back from Massachusetts, I felt quite tired. I’d just spent several hours on the road going up and now I was looping back. I made a conscious decision to embrace the time before me; to stop and rest, to meditate, to spend some time reflecting on the events of the day, and to appreciate the time and embrace the perspective that a blog post can wait. After my pit stop, I was refreshed and drove home and went to bed. After all, I am not Amala Dede and neither should you be him. Take the time to look around and inhale the beauty in your surroundings…. While time waits for no man, if we listen, it does offer us a perspective… suited just for each of us.
Stay Inspired! What are your thoughts? What wisdom have you learned from/about Time? How has it helped you? What do you do with your time? Where do you find inspiration when you are tired? Do share! Thank you. 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from SoulPancake: What wisdom have you discovered about time along your writer’s path? How has it helped you? Share your discovery here in 100 words or less.
Positive Motivation Tip: With time, we grow to appreciate the blessing in slowing down and speeding up when we must… enjoy it.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos Pocket watch, Clock of the Berenguela tower, Santiago de Compostela cathedral, Galicia, Spain, Kyburg Schloss, via Wikipedia. And/Or Starkwhite clock, by Nina Matthews Photography via Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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An excellent post as ever !
TY Mz. Helen! 🙂
thank you again for Thoreau:
“Time = the stream I go a-fishing in.”
You are welcome and TY for stopping by… I love the Thoreau quote too. 😉
Something I learned about “Time” can be explained by a quote I read recently from a book: “Loving memories constitute an indispensable psychological resource in maturity.”
Hmm mmm that is a deep quote! I like it … “psychological resource” is an interesting way to see it. TY! 🙂
Good advice, Elizabeth – I am possibly the world’s worst meditator so I need to constantly make my head slow down!
Oh, I bet you are not alone… Perhaps, it would help to let the thoughts run wild till they come round and quiet down. If you use a mantra or special word of choice(even affirmation) it would hep with quieting down the chatter; it happens to all of us. TY! 🙂
Thank you for helping me to remember that time is on my side today. Until next time… 🙂
Oh yes and it always is if we adopt that perspective… I often feel rushed and instead of rushing back after dropping off my child, I went with the flow of pacing myself and following the prompting to pull off the highway, meditate, rest and continue my journey. I didn’t get home till 2:45AM and usually I’d get online and do some stuff but I didn’t and you know, it’s okay. We don’t give ourselves enough permission to just be… I’m learning, not fully there yet. TY! 😆
I see people waste so much time on things of little importance…time takes our energy if we don’t watch out…and I need my energy for more important things…THANKS, THANKS, THANKS…such great insight!
True… It is all about perspective and focusing on the bigger picture and the hings that truly make a difference to our sense of well being… TY! 🙂
Love the Steve Jobs quote. Enjoy your Good Friday & Easter weekend! 😉
Same here… I’ve used it in the past and just love the message. TY! 🙂
I have been thinking of writing a post on this subject for some time now because it seems I am always struggling with it – rushing when there is no need, thinking there is not enough of it, etc. and today I find your post which is so beautifully written – thanks for the inspiration!
Go for it Suellen. It was a bit of an eye opener for me to spend some time reflecting on this subject… We like in a society that is obsessed with time and it won’t hurt to step back and ask ourselves – why? Not necessarily for the larger community but for ourselves… Why the rush? Can we make peace with it? TY! 🙂
This is very timely Eliz..no pun intended! I waste a lot of time every day and it creates a discontent within me. But I am working on it!
TY Chris and sometimes I feel that way too… I realized that we often set ourselves up to feel guilty about what we did or didn’t do. Key is to make peace with our daily accomplishments and set realistic goals. Then if an inner prompting rises that we should sit awhile, we do it without acrimony… I’m learning too. TY! 🙂
I have become a different writer over time. The more I experience, the more my writing changes. Same style, hopefully with a little more wisdom and truth.
I love the quotes you gave. I will tuck those away for future use.
Isn’t it interesting how with this one word, “Time” immediately stirs feelings of excitement or regret? Thank you for the great post!
TY Joy and I am evolving too as a writer. I also find that when I give myself breathing space, time to shut out the noise, I do better… TY for your feedback! 🙂
One of my favorite of your posts. Always providing the excellent perspective. Love the Steve Jobs quote. It’s very relevant to me right now. Thank you.
Same here dear one… I know it! TY for stopping by Karen. Wish we’d meet for some chai tea some day. 🙂
You always give much thought to your posts Elizabeth. Margie
TY for your kind words… I love your posts too! 🙂
Nice one, Elizabeth. Sometimes time hurts. Every single nano second of a moment when one is suffering feels elongated, stretching human endurance beyond the beyond. Yet, in my experience, every single time I get to the other side, the memory of those moments is blurred into insignificance. Until the next time. Ah, being human, lends my thoughts to Jean Vanier’s works. Thanks for this one 🙂
True… We feel the passage of time more so when we are hurting… and then it shifts. Happy Easter! TY! 🙂
I do know that the older I get, the quicker time passes.
Time doesn’t declare any winners, Time doesn’t take prisoners. Time marches, rolls and moves on. We try to run from it, with it and ahead of it. We ignore it, we work with it. We notice it and we need it. Time rushes and Time is fleeting. Time is perspective, unique to each of us. If we can truly get out of our own way, when ‘we’ stop rushing, rolling and moving at the speed of light, when we stop fighting it and ignoring it then and only then will Time stop for us.
Love this post. Time and perspective are two of my favorite topics. I do believe that, “Time discovers truth.” I also believe that time can change our perspective. Earlier in life I felt that I always had to be on the go. Now I realize that I need to put down the “walking stick” for awhile and relax. The more time that passes the more selective I am about how I “spend” it. Time is a priceless commodity. Happy Easter!
This post makes me want to go run in the rain and make dandelion necklaces. 🙂
I love these lyrics from ‘Wastin’ Time’ by Ron Sexsmith
“The day is long
Too many hours to kill
It’s alright to let a few minutes spill
Where’s the crime in wasting time with you”
I have been pretty hopeless at living in the moment, but I’m learning, I’m learning 🙂
That perspective clock is my kind of clock!
Oh, Elizabeth…I especially liked “. Take the time to look around and inhale the beauty in your surroundings…. While time waits for no man, if we listen, it does offer us a perspective… suited just for each of us.” It truly spoke to my heart today…
Time and perspective are trult important subjecys for all of us to mull over. I ften feel like I have no time then I realize it is my anxiety getting in the way. As I age, I’m learning to live and let go more. Loved this post.
B
We’re always trying to get a handle on time, at least I am. But the reality is that we have enough time, just need to prioritize so we can use it more effectively. Now, if only I could just do that!
Truly, truly, what “time” it is is purely a fiction of our human minds! A matter of perspective, for sure! Knowing when to go slow and when to go fast is such a finely-honed skill brought on by a LOT of life experience, me thinks! Thank you for this “persective” today!
I’m late and catching up, but I hope you had a great Easter.
I’d love to slow down – in fact John and I were saying we need some time out again. Knowing we need it and being able to facilitate it are two different things. At the moment, we are stuck in those suits. Our time will come.