Time is the one thing
every person spends…
whether they realize it
or not.
What are you purchasing with it?
SPEND THIS WISELY
TIME.
If I said to you that you only get so much time to eat, sleep, travel, laugh, explore, experience, own, rent, invest, try things out and simply come and go…
perhaps we would approach life differently.
Two approaches immediately come to mind:
Obsession…
and appreciation.
OBSESSION
In this mode, people forget to smell the roses.
They stop enjoying where they are and what they are doing because their focus remains fixed on how much time is being spent or lost.
They are always pacing.
Racing.
Planning the next thing while missing the present one.
Forever moving to and fro…
without ever fully arriving.
APPRECIATION
This group behaves differently.
They discover something meaningful and slowly enter into it with awe and ease.
They allow the experience to unfold naturally and fully feed back into them for enjoyment and understanding.
They do not rush the moment…
they receive it.
QUANTITY
In obsession, quantity takes over.
More experiences.
More places.
More money.
More activity.
The future becomes more important than the present.
Being busy becomes mistaken for living wisely.
But while preparing for tomorrow…
today quietly slips away unnoticed.
QUALITY
In appreciation, quality takes over.
One pauses.
Considers.
Breathes.
Receives.
The moment itself becomes enough.
Why rush elsewhere when the reward is already present and unfolding before you?
The return is happening now.
All one must do…
is receive it.
CONTENTMENT
When appreciation enters, contentment quickly follows.
A calmness appears.
Rest enters the moment.
Peace quietly joins the experience.
And suddenly life transforms into something deeper than activity alone.
This is the bonus round called moderation.
SATISFACTION
Once satisfaction arrives, it behaves like a soothing balm reaching deep into the psyche.
All systems settle.
Needs are met.
The inner world quiets itself.
A satisfied person carries themselves differently than an unsatisfied person does.
You can feel it immediately.
TEST THIS
It is important to learn this personally.
Not intellectually…
but experientially.
Once learned deeply, it begins shaping character itself.
It changes how a person sees, hears and responds to life.
This eventually becomes personality.
And though no two personalities are alike, all are exposed to the same life dynamics.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
Some want more bang for the buck.
Others simply want the buck.
Both approaches teach lessons depending on the time and place.
Some people feast on marrow.
Others only chew the bone.
But all are feeding on life in their own way.
EXAMPLE SHARED
I remember my first trip to Hawaii.
I studied the tour packages carefully and wanted to maximize my money and time.
Three islands in ten days.
I thought:
“Boy oh boy, am I going to get so much in return.”
And on paper…
it sounded perfect.
REALITY
But in application something else happened.
Though I was enthralled by the experience, I constantly heard reminders about check-in times, departures, schedules and flights.
Travel itself consumed much of the experience.
I was always preparing to leave while trying to arrive.
FLY-BY?
Packing and unpacking became part of the routine too.
And whenever I found something I truly enjoyed, I immediately began measuring how much time I could spend there before it was time to move on.
Yes…
I saw three islands.
But it often felt more like a fly-by than boots on the ground.
Life can become that way too if we are not careful.
AVOID THE SQUEEZE PLAY
Spend TIME wisely.
Spend it generously.
Spend it consistently.
But spend it softly too.
With silk-glove moments.
Baby steps.
Respect.
Presence.
The riddle of “take your time” while not knowing how much time we actually have may never fully be solved…
but it can absolutely be fully lived.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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