Well, THAT Year Flew By...
Time is a curious creature...it waits for NO one, never makes calls based on race, creed, or religion, nor does it back up and start over again at some point for the sake of convenience.
Time is, if nothing else...constant.
And, time is LINEAR.
It moves in one direction and always in a straight line.
Now, if all that seems a bit "cerebral", don't worry. I had difficulty wrapping my brain around it, too, so please bear with me
But you get to a point in your life when you realize that you've got a lot more time BEHIND you than in FRONT of you.
And you ask yourself if all that "past" time was well-spent.
Well, you DID fritter away SOME of that time....believe it or not.
In fact, you SLEPT through a lot of it...LOL.
We spend around 30 years of our lives asleep (given a normal life span).
Would that we all could postpone a lot of that sack-time so we could have learned a lot more a lot SOONER, eh?
It would have solved a lot of the problems we all encountered along our journeys in life, right?
How many times have YOU said: "If I knew back THEN, what I know NOW", hmm?
I can tell you, I wish a had a dollar for each time I uttered that sentence.
Another thing about time...it always "seems" to SPEED UP as we get older.
Days, week, months, and yes, even YEARS pass at breakneck rapidity.
You turn around, and your little "baby" is grown up, or you're at a job for a while and suddenly, BAM, it's twenty years later.
And the really interesting thing about all this passage of time, is that you can usually recall events in the (more distant) past like they occurred last week, or at least last year. I know I can, and it's kinda creepy sometimes.
Your life passes, and what you perhaps want most is to hang onto all those good things you had, and dump all the "excess baggage".
It's a nice scenario to be sure, but we tend to remember a LOT more than just those good things.
We recall the bad things as well.
But, if time were anything BUT linear, we could change that, and easily, too.
Hopefully, we've managed to glean that which we found good and proper, and have not tried to embrace anything that was injurious to us along the way.
Life is a trek that has a beginning and an end...and a whole lot of "middle" in between those two points.
It's a one-way hike, whether we like it or not. We can't just say to ourselves: "This is too rugged a trail, I'm going back to the car and wait for everyone else". Doesn't work that way, 'cause everyone else on the trail with you is hiking to THEIR destination.
And there is no "car" to go back to and wait.
Once you started this journey, you have to see it through to the end.
You see, you're not just on a hike through the woods, but through LIFE ITSELF.
And you are also on a journey through TIME ITSELF.
Never thought of yourself as a "time-traveler", did you?
Well, maybe we don't have that DeLorean at our disposal, or the machination of H.G. Wells, but we ARE moving through time...all of us.
Now, here comes the hard part...
HOW we move through time is important...to US, as well as every other soul we encounter.
I mean we're already stuck on that LINEAR path I mentioned earlier, so we can't change that aspect.
Time moves in ONE direction and we're all along for the ride, as it were.
But think on this...
A race car is made sleek to better move through it's environment...same goes for aircraft, or for that matter, even a swimmer.
We require a certain level of energy to move fluidly through OUR time.
If we don't have it (or find it), we create DRAG, and that slows us down...impedes our ability to move efficiently.
Now, don't go strapping on an airfoil or spoiler to your back thinking that will solve everything in life, because it won't.
You have to first understand what is causing the "drag" in your life.
For some, it's CRIMINAL INTENT. For others, it's APATHY.
A lot of it is bad choices, but that's what WISDOM is all about.
Anything that allows you to deviate from what is normal in life creates DRAG...it impedes your progress.
Now, this isn't to say that a drag-free, streamline life ends sooner...it doesn't.
But when you have to expend more energy to do things that take less energy, that's a WASTE of your time and your life.
Just in case you were wondering, we are talking more about the human MIND and SPIRIT, and not so much about the physical realm..
We can't change the effects of aging on our bodies...we can only delay them, so that doesn't figure into the mix.
Now, I said all THAT...to say THIS:
We're at the end of the first decade of the new millennium. Many of us come from a time in the middle of the LAST century.
I know I DO (being born in 1952 does that to a person).
But, whatever time we all have left, should be filled with making things better...making OURSELVES better.
I can think of no greater gift to ourselves and our future than to be more than what others believe we're capable of.
Sooner or later we all arrive at "Legacy lane", and it would be nice to have something to show for all the time we were permitted.
It doesn't have to be gargantuan in nature, either.
Sometimes, the smaller the item, the better.
Those kind words we offer, the door held open for a senior, the gift we gave to a local charity..all of these and more are the things that remove much of the "drag" in our lives...they lighten OUR burden. They allow our hike through time to be less taxing, so that we CAN have a moment here and there to look about us AS we travel...to notice all that surrounds us daily.
My parents always told me it was the "little things in life that count", and by God, they were right.
I mean, if we were to make an analogy of this...would you rather have just one BIG gift under the old Christmas tree, or a whole lot of LITTLE ONES?
I think we're at a point in all our lives where can effect a lot more "positivity" to those around us.
And maybe, just maybe the new year could be the place to start.
It doesn't have to be a "resolution" per se...just a sincere conviction and desire to do the right things...for the right reasons.
Our time is here, and it's ours to utilize in a manner befitting to our nation, and our God.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.