The older we get the more aware we become of time passing. I think that awareness becomes even more acute the second a person realizes they have lived more days than they have remaining. I feel I have lived a full life but I am acutely aware that there is not enough time in a single lifetime to accomplish everything that I want to accomplish. There is always more work to be done. That awareness is a major motivator for me. I waste time, everybody wastes time, but it can be difficult to maintain the proper perspective so that I understand that time is being wasted.
I typically divide my time between productive time and down time. It has taken me most of my life but I now realize that 99% of my wasted time resides in the productive time category. Working extra hours to make a few extra dollars to acquire a non-necessity is probably the biggest time waster in my life. I’ve been conditioned to think that more is better when it comes to money. In reality, enough is better than not enough. Once ‘more’ enters the equation, priorities become clouded and the time wasting begins. I’ve been working on reducing my possessions to one hundred. Progression on that goal is aided by regular re-grounding of my perspective on wasted time.
Whenever I visit my grandmother’s grave, I try to make time to visit the infant section of the graveyard. There are several children buried there that were born on the same day as I was born. All my worry about money, the car I drive, the health of my lawn, the clothes I wear — gets exposed for the narcism it is when I consider those in the graves before me. Time is precious. At the end of my life I will value what I accomplished more than what I owned.
Probably the biggest clarity boost to my perspective came on Friday this week. Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940. He would have been 75 on Friday. I do not think there is another person in history who has inspired more martial artists than Bruce Lee. His skill was unmatched and his accomplishments were many. Growing up he was my hero. To this day he still is. Bruce Lee inspires me to push myself harder, to care deeper, and to make darn sure that I am a different person when I go to bed at night than I was when I woke up in the morning. This man inspired me and millions of others to believe in the power of discipline, to go further, and to do more. Bruce Lee died at the age of 32.
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)
2 comments:
Very powerful. How do one keep this awareness all the time? We are living in a world where materialism and judgement are prominent. We have to get more and more all the time.
Yup, that is the challenge isn't it? The old "Where am I?" and "What am I doing" serves us well when it comes to combating society's constant message to consume. Mindful living is the key, and that means pulling ourselves back into the moment whenever we can.
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