Another year gone....
Staring at the calendar it's impossible not to notice that there are just two pages left on the calendar and November is almost over. Where did the time go? Where did the year go? What did we do with the time? Questions without answers, but there are answers. The answers are in how we spend our time. Every one of us is given the same 24hours in a day, the same 86'400 minutes for the year. What we choose to do with it is entirely up to us. As the adage goes:
Bad News is that time flies. The good news is that you are the pilot.
More than the time lost are the lost moments. Opportunities to share precious moments lost when we focussed on 'more important' things. Events and objects that we have attached importance to and given them a valuable space in a major part of our lives – our jobs, careers, enjoyment are all important but not as important as the people around us. To date no one has been recorded as saying while on his deathbed "I should have spent more time at the office." This touching story brings the point home with stark reality:
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a lady on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
"He's a fine looking boy" the lady said. "That's my daughter on the bike in the white dress." Then, looking at her watch, she called to her daughter. "What do you say we go, Melissa?"
Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Mum Please? Just five more minutes."
The lady nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart's content. Minutes passed and the mother stood and called again to her daughter. "Time to go now?"
Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Mum. Just five more minutes."
The lady smiled and said, "OK."
"My, you certainly are a patient mother," the woman responded.
The lady smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play."
Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today. So drop the pens, pots, money and just make the time to give someone you love a call or a hug just for the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala That opportunity may not arise again so grab it and make it a moment to remember. . And give thanks to Allah that He granted us such special people in our lives – people without whom life would be constrained and devoid of pleasure.
Time is not about counting the moments but about making the moments count.