SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Time is our greatest currency; are you wasting it?
Aug 17, 2018, 2:43 PM
Sun rises and shines through the stones at Stonehenge. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
(Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
Two times this week I caught myself saying to someone, “Can you believe it’s almost September?”
Both times they responded with something close to, “Oh my god, it’s crazy! Right?”
Today is the 229th day of 2018, there are 136 days left until we all collectively write the wrong date on every document, and fire up the resolution machine.
The older I get, the more I realize that time is our greatest currency.
Henry David Thoreau said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
I have to admit that my past, my future, and a basket of things I cannot change are among the most expensive things I have.
So I guess this is a reminder to myself to appreciate the little moments every day. Hopefully, it will remind you, too.
There is very little I can do to change the political climate in Washington D.C. I need to guard how much time I spend in that space. The emotional energy spent attempting to hold back the flood is not energy well-spent in most cases.
Same goes for past relationships and failures. Take the lessons learned and move one. They were already expensive enough, no need to rehash them forever.
And for the future? God willing, I’ll get there. I have a plan; no need to obsess about it. Despite the best laid strategy, it’s going to be much different than I imagined anyway.
There is a moment right in front of me. Maybe it’s that first sip of coffee in the morning or an unexpected text from a friend. That moment is happening now. Savor it.
If we thought about our time more like a currency, maybe we would spend it differently. Maybe that TV show would lose some of its draw and that late summer walk would look more appealing.
If you’ve always wanted to do something, do it.
If you’ve always wanted to go somewhere, go there.
If you’ve waited too long to reach out someone, reach out anyway.
You only get one 229th day of 2018. It’s happening now.
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