AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME
A child was waiting on the door for his father to arrive. Excited, he hurriedly opened the door when he felt that somebody was on the other side of the door. He smiled the biggest smile and immediately hugged the father. The father, perhaps tired from a whole days work accepted the hug and lightly pushed the boy away, indicating that he is in no mood and he is very tired. The boy then asked a question, Dad, how much do you get paid in your work?
The father was surprised with the question but eventually answered the question. I am paid about 120 per hour. He saw a slight glimmer of disappointment from the child but he just let it go because he was too tired to entertain any shenanigans from his two-year-old. Then the boy asked again, Dad, can I borrow 75 from you? At this the father was shocked and he got angry. He shouted at the boy, furious why a 2-year-old was demanding such a huge amount. He angrily sent the boy to his room.
After, a while when his nerves cooled down. He realized that the boy must have some very important project because this was the first time the boy asked him for any money. So he went to the boys room, knocked and entered and prepared to give him the P75 that the boy asked. He was about to give a lecture about the importance of money when he gave the P75, the boys face immediately lit up. Then he noticed that the boy was scrounging around for something in his pillow. The father noticed that in the little boy’s hands were few bills and a lot of coins. With the happiest of all little boy smiles he said: Daddy, I have here P45 plus with the P75 you loaned to me, I now have P120. Can I buy an hour of your time?
I don’t have time for that, can’t you do it yourself? I am so busy; can you please be quiet? Shut up!!! No, I can’t go to your recital because I’m working so I can send you to that very expensive school. No, I can’t watch your game because I have overtime.
When did all of us started to lose time? It seems that in this modern world, WE don’t have time to do anything. When did this happen? When did we feed ourselves to the monster called Time. Is there a way to slay this mythical beast?
Is it Time’s fault? Did Time change? Or Did we change? Isn’t it a fact that even before man discovered fire, time was already there. Time has always been the constant thing in this universe, aside from God of course. Then we ask ourselves, what is it that I have done with the time that has been given to me.
In any given work week an average person spends 8 hrs. sleeping. He spends 1. 11 hrs. eating and drinking. Then spends 1.68 hrs. driving. Assuming he gets 1 day off, then he works 6.66 hrs. per day. Then he spends about an hour on the internet, if not more. Then he watches TV for about 2.8 hrs., because he/she can’t miss an episode of Cardo(hehe). So the average Joe spends 21.25 hours to do all these basic activities. Then there is cleaning the laundry, the house, playtime with the kids, loving your wife. No wonder we have the expression “ran out of time”.
Since all of us have 24 hrs in day, the average Joe, only has 3 hours for himself, and this failed to account for prayer time, church, community based activities, exercise.
To put perspective on how we spend our limited time, primarily in the pursuit of money, Steve Jobs, one of the greatest geniuses in our lifetime had this to say:
Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth …
Should be something that is more important:
Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days
Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.
God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.
The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love.
That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on.
Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.
What is the most expensive bed in the world?
Sick bed …
You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.
Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost — Life.
When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading — Book of Healthy Life.
Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.
Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends.
Treat yourself well. Cherish others.”
In the end, one of the most brilliant, richest man in the world went back to the basics: Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. He spent his entire life in the pursuit of wealth and more wealth. He achieved it but at the cost of his relationships with his family and friends.
In the end, our time on earth is not just measured by how we lived our own lives but also by our relationships as defined by our friends, our families and more importantly our children. It is thru their eyes and our simple everyday exchanges do we find out what really matters. So, I guess it’s time to stop the excuse that “I can’t come to your rehearsal, game, or any other activity because of a meeting.” Enough! The dice is cast, the time is now. Change has to start some place. Change has to start some time. What better place than here? What better time than now?(Rage Against the Machine)
Any relationship that needs fixing requires one crucial element, you have to spend part of your time for the other. To chat, to talk, to embrace, get a simple drink, coffee, biscuits, banana cue, isaw. A time spent with a loved one is one of the pure bliss that God has gifted us in this world. So, don’t waste it in the endless pursuit of wealth. Go mend, patch up lay the foundation to bigger and better and better relationships. Give a little, spend a little, give back and love a little. Cherish your loved ones and your relationships by spending time with them. As Rick Warren wrote: LOVE IS SPELLED WITH T.I.M.E.