The Blessing of Time - 9/9/23

Today I want to talk about something we all think about… but rarely really sit with.

Time.

Time is a tricky subject.

It’s easy to talk about on the surface.
Easy to joke about.
Easy to think about briefly and move on.

But when you really sit with it… it becomes something else entirely.

It becomes deeper.
More complex.
And if we’re honest… a little scary.

Because when you really look at time… you start to see how valuable it is.

And how limited it is.

And then the real question becomes…

How many of us are actually making the best use of it?

Forget your whole life for a second.

Did you make the best use of your time this morning?

When you woke up?
Last night?
The last time you spoke to a friend?
The last day you had off?

When you suddenly had an extra hour… and you got to choose what to do with it…

Did you make the best use of that time?

Most of us would probably say no.

So why is that?

Why don’t we take advantage of something we know is so valuable?

Maybe it’s because we think we have a lot of time.

Or maybe we know it’s valuable… but we don’t want to think about how limited it actually is.

Because that requires us to pause.

To really look at our lives.

To put things into perspective.

And that can feel uncomfortable.

Even scary.

For me… I’ve always been an over thinker.

When I was younger, I thought that was a strength.

Now… I’m trying to get as far away from it as I can.

I’ve always been a doer.

I didn’t sit around.
I wasn’t watching TV all day.
I was always moving. Always accomplishing.

I was the guy asking…

How much can I fit into this day?

How many things can I get done?

If I found an extra five minutes…

I didn’t relax.

I asked myself…

What can I squeeze in right now?

What can I check off the list?

And honestly… it was a little crazy.

And if I’m being honest… it’s still something I work on.

I’m better than I was.

But I’m not standing here as someone who has mastered this.

I chose this topic because I still struggle with it.

But I’ve developed awareness.

And that’s what I hope you walk away with today.

Awareness.

Because here’s what I realized.

I had the right idea…

But I was completely wrong about what it meant.

I thought making the best use of time meant…

accomplishing more
becoming more
doing more

But it’s not about what you accomplish.

It’s not about who you become.

It’s about who you already are.

And what you’re here to experience.

Because the only thing we truly take from this life…

are our experiences…

and the lessons that come with them.

So why do we spend so much of our time ignoring both?

Some of you know I’ve had a spiritual awakening.

That’s what led me here and the work I've been doing.

And one of the most interesting realizations I had was this.

Heaven… or the afterlife… or whatever you want to call it…

has everything.

Except one thing.

The human experience.

The good moments.
The hard moments.
The painful ones.
The beautiful ones.

That’s what we’re here for.

To experience life.

To learn.

To understand ourselves.

To understand what our soul needs.

And yet…

we spend so much of our time in our heads.

Worrying.
Thinking.
Trying to control things we can’t control.

Living in the past.

Or in the “what if” of the future.

Instead of being right here.

In this moment.

Our souls are on a journey.

And if we don’t stop…
if we don’t listen…
if we don’t look around…

we can easily lose our way.

So I started learning how to slow down.

To look at things from the heart.

To pause.

To be still.

Now when I have those extra five minutes…

I don’t rush to fill them.

I sit.

I breathe.

I reflect.

And what I’ve found is…

a lot comes to you in those moments.

When you’re quiet.

When you look within.

When you ask yourself real questions.

What’s working in my life?
What isn’t?
What brings me joy?
What drains me?

Who am I… really?

And sometimes…

you don’t do anything at all.

You just sit.

You take in the moment.

You notice what’s around you.

And it’s in those moments that something shifts.

You start to feel more connected.

More grounded.

More at peace.

It’s still a process for me.

But when I find that space…

it feels right.

It feels real.

We get excited about meeting new people.

Learning who they are.

Discovering what makes them unique.

Why don’t we get excited about discovering ourselves?

Not the version we show the world.

But who we really are.

Because one of the most powerful ways to do that…

is to simply sit in the moment.

To be still.

To make space.

That’s making the best use of time.

Life moves fast.

Faster than we realize.

There’s a line from a movie that says…

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while… you could miss it.

My father used to say something similar.

He wrote in my yearbook…

Make sure you stop and smell the roses.

Back then I thought…

who wants to stop and smell flowers?

Now I understand.

I’ve experienced a lot of loss in my life.

More than most.

Starting with my mother when she was 37.

I didn’t realize how young that was… until I got there myself.

I’ve sat with people in their final days.

And I’ve often wondered…

what are they thinking in those moments?

When my father was sick…

I watched him change.

From the center of every room…

to someone quiet.

Reflective.

Thinking deeply.

I never asked him what he was thinking.

But I can imagine.

Thinking about what mattered.

What didn’t.

What he would have done differently.

After he passed…

I started to see life differently.

But not enough.

Because I still believed…

that doing more was the answer.

I didn’t realize…

that slowing down might be the way forward.

That doing nothing… sometimes… is the most powerful thing you can do.

That looking within…

is what actually points you in the right direction.

So I’ll leave you with this...

Imagine you are lying in bed many years from now.

You are at peace.

And you know…this is your last day.

No more decisions.
No more stress.
No more rushing.

Just reflection.

Looking back on your life.

And asking yourself…

Was I present?
Did I live fully?
Did I make the best use of the time I was given?

And in that moment…

you have a chance to answer that question.

Now imagine…

you open your eyes.

And you’re right back here.

Today.

With time still ahead of you.

Now what are you going to do…

with the blessing of your time?