This notion of TIME or should it really be referred to as this GIFT of time?
Knowing that I have been in South Africa for three months now reminds me of the way in which time flies, but also the way in which time allows for growth in one self and in growth with relationships new and old. I’ve realized how close I am to some of my new friends here from both the US (the north especially), South Africa, and other countries. The beauty of time is that it is a certain period in which you have the chance to LIVE and in that amount of time whether it be four years in college, five months in South Africa, a week in Zambia, a weekend hiking and hanging out with friends, a day spent in the city, a night out with friends, an hour having coffee and building relationships, or a minute to kiss someone you love, that time is YOURS. You must do with you what YOU want and you must fit somewhere in all that time some space for YOURSELF.
I’ve learned that even the most extroverted person (I think I was guilty of being one of them at some point in life) needs time for reflection. When you educate yourself on some you may have observed or heard, you are reflecting on that and being a teacher for yourself. You are being your own teacher. I hate thinking “oh I wasted my time on this or that.” I rather like to think “ok, what can I take away from that even if I think my time should have been used for something else?” This is also the reason I think I hate to be bored, when really I should try to enjoy it. There can be productive reflection in boredom.
Because time is a gift that is of an unknown length in the grand scheme of life to us all, we have to make sure we just live and use our time wisely. How do I want to spend my time? Happily, healthy, helpful. What do I want to spend my time doing? With who do I want to spend my time? And then, why?
**This was my long tangent of free-writing waiting outside for Jewelry Making class to start on Tuesday. I didn’t put the pen down for 15 minutes and just wrote. I wanted to write about time because I spend so much time thinking about what I am going to do with all the rest of my time and sometimes I just want to live without thinking so much… don’t we all? Shouldn’t we all just want to LIVE without thinking?!
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace.
I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- this is the gift of God.
-Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, 12-13
"Time" By: Billy Porter- Song from my senior solo.
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