People say they have free time.
I don’t believe it.
Time is too valuable to ever be free.
We live our lives by schedules.
Wake up.
Get dressed.
Go to work.
Run errands.
Meet obligations.
Pay bills.
Keep appointments.
Solve problems.
Then before we know it, the day is over and we are climbing back into bed.
Tomorrow we do it all again.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, we spend something incredibly valuable.
TIME.
Not money.
Not possessions.
Not status.
TIME.
WAIT UP!
Time waits for no one.
Not kings.
Not presidents.
Not billionaires.
Not celebrities.
Not you.
Not me.
The clock keeps moving whether we are sleeping, working, worrying, laughing, planning, succeeding, or failing.
It never pauses.
It never takes a day off.
It never asks permission.
It simply marches on.
WHO ARE YOU?
One of the fascinating things about time is that it is the great equalizer.
Every human being receives the same twenty-four hours each day.
No one gets extra.
No one gets cheated.
How we use those hours becomes the story of our lives.
Someone once asked me if I enjoyed their company.
I replied:
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
That answer surprised them.
But it shouldn’t.
When someone gives you their time, they are giving you a portion of their life.
There is no greater gift.
PARENTS UNDERSTAND THIS.
Children often do not recognize the investment being made on their behalf.
The rides.
The practices.
The lessons.
The conversations.
The sacrifices.
The sleepless nights.
The worrying.
The encouraging.
The believing.
Parents quietly exchange years of their lives for the well-being of their children.
One day those children grow up and finally understand.
Time reveals what time was spent on.
I GAVE YOU MY TIME.
Think about volunteers.
Think about caregivers.
Think about teachers.
Think about mentors.
Think about grandparents.
What exactly are they giving?
Not merely effort.
Not merely energy.
They are giving pieces of their lives.
That is why gratitude matters.
Because every act of service contains an invisible contribution called time.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SAID IT WELL.
“Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
What a statement.
Not part of life.
Not connected to life.
The very substance of life itself.
Life is measured in moments.
Moments become days.
Days become years.
Years become a lifetime.
TIME IS A GIFT.
I have often written that every morning you are handed a gift.
A day.
A fresh day.
A brand-new opportunity.
No two days are alike.
No two moments are alike.
Not since the beginning of creation has there ever been another day exactly like today.
Nor will there ever be one again.
Think about that.
This day is unique.
A one-time offering.
A gift that will never be repeated.
SPEND IT WELL.
When someone says:
“I only have five minutes.”
Do not complain.
Do not feel slighted.
Be grateful.
They just offered you five minutes of something they can never get back.
Five minutes of life.
Five minutes of existence.
Five minutes of themselves.
Make those minutes count.
THE MOMENT IS THE TREASURE.
People often chase happiness around the next corner.
The next promotion.
The next purchase.
The next vacation.
The next achievement.
Meanwhile, life is sitting quietly in the moment waiting to be noticed.
As I have shared throughout Pearls for the Soul:
The moment is where life lives.
Not yesterday.
Not tomorrow.
Now.
This moment.
This breath.
This conversation.
This opportunity.
This day.
PONDER THIS.
The only thing greater than time is eternity.
A place where time no longer limits us.
A place beyond clocks and calendars.
A place beyond deadlines and schedules.
But here is the question:
If we fail to appreciate the gift of time here…
How will we appreciate eternity there?
TIME MARCHES ON.
Whether you notice it or not.
Whether you appreciate it or not.
Whether you use it wisely or not.
Time continues forward.
The good news is that so can you.
Spend your time on people.
Spend your time on purpose.
Spend your time on growth.
Spend your time on gratitude.
Spend your time becoming who you were meant to become.
Because when all is said and done, your life will not be measured by how much you accumulated.
It will be measured by how you spent your time.
And that makes time the most valuable currency ever given to mankind.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you