Body-Mind-Soul – A Brief Discourse on Time
I attended a funereal for a friend’s father last Monday. The service started at 3:16, and the date last Monday was 3-16. That decision was purposeful – to say last goodbyes to a man who preached the word of God, and loved John 3:16.
After the service, I had time to talk and reminisce with my friend on his Dad, and this friend, who was once my best friend, reminded me of one of the things I used to tell him, a thing he said he never forgot, “At some point time is shorter than it is long.” I hadn’t said that in awhile, but replied, “We’re there now.”
That night I had a vivid dream. I dreamed I was looking at footsteps in the snow, not necessarily my footsteps. They were close together, not a shuffle but close like an old man’s in a back yard or garden would look. It was not mud but a slushy snow, and it was snowing, and those footsteps began to fill up, to disappear. When they had completely disappeared, I woke up.
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My friend’s Dad had died of Altzheimer’s disease, and I interpreted that dream as a visual reference to the disease. Imagine never being able to look back at our own footsteps, leaving no footprints in our mind’s matter. What a harrowing thought. What a horrible disease.
I continue to think long and hard about time. Heck, I even read Hawking’s book.
Recently, I had lunch with a friend in Houston, and we were talking about time. He’s a young buck, done his time in our most recent wars, and now is in his mid-30’s. My warning is always the same when it comes to time. That clock spins faster and faster. Time goes so fast in fact, you will remember exactly where you were or what you were doing a year ago – like it was yesterday. You may not remember exactly what was said, or if anything was lost or gained, but you know it was only yesterday.
When it comes to fly fishing, I have instituted annual reminders, times when the fishing was good mostly. They pop up every year, on the same day, and remind me of the ones I caught, and the ones that got away. Where, when and how is also part of the pesky reminders – just in case I forget. If I lost that calendar, if I lost the content of this website … I might have to head for the bunker with my bug-out bag.
And I occasionally have new thoughts for my young friends as well. I told him about something I had read (or heard … I can’t remember which), that said something to the effect of, “If we live the life we want, then dying isn’t a problem.” Now, nobody around here wants to die, but I think that says a lot about regret, or regrets. Think about it.
Another way an old guy like myself finds entertainment is by stumping youth with a riddle. It goes like this:
What is it the most valuable thing everyone has? Some have more, and some have less. We can waste it. We can save it. We can spend it, but it can’t be bought or sold. I have never had a ballpark answer yet. Of course the answer is: time.
So now I have spent time saving these few thoughts on time, and perhaps they will stir you to think about your time a little more intently. Or perhaps not. There really just is never enough of it now, it seems.
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Category: Body-Mind-Soul
