Slight Detour

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the ... Now here's where the funny part is supposed to start, except that this isn't a comedy routine and I am not the best jokester. Last Friday, my body wound up in the hospital while my mind was making other plans. About the best laugh that anyone could come up with was that now I know what it's like to sleep in surroundings that cost a $1000 a night and come with an adjustable bed and a staff catering to my every need.

Fortunately, I am home and well and it all seems like some bizarre tale told by a bard seeking to wile away the hours. Life is full of unexpected detours from the script we've written for ourselves. Even when we think we've put it all in God's hands, an experience such as I had causes an abrupt rethinking of priorities, activities and plans. The recurring comment that I have received from my friends is "perhaps it's about time to slow down?" Frankly, my thought is more along the lines of "I guess it's time to speed up!"

None of us know the amount of time we have on this earth, but the one thing we all know is that it is not limitless and that our bodies deteriorate with age. When looked at from this perspective, we all ought to be making every minute count.

Count for what? That's where the priorities come in.

How are we spending today? Are we so caught up in yesterday that it overshadows everything we experience? Are we so afraid of or longing for tomorrow that we are blind to the possibilities of the now? When the past haunts us or the future makes us uneasy, we give time a power it doesn't have to have.

Time is a human invention. We parse it because we can and because it's a neat way of organizing life. Yet, time is complex. In the 21st century, we can see the past and its future at the same time. We take a video of our kids when they are small and watch it with them as they turn 18. We know how it all turns out because today is the future we wondered about when we shot the footage.

Today is also the past that we will think of tomorrow. It can have its influence while we are living it or it can come to life in our memories. We can do something about what occurs as it occurs or clean up the mess afterwards. The future will be the result of the decisions we make or don't make because it is not a package waiting to happen to us. The only one who knows the outcome of the way we choose to live today is the One who doesn't live in time. Trying to figure it out is way above our pay grade.

So, we have the chance to make the future by doing something today. How are we going to spend the time?