The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minute an hour. Whatever he does, whoever he is.
(C.S. Lewis)
The future is just a second ahead of the present, and the past is just the second that has passed. This truth is universal for every person.
And 2020 really proved this quote by C.S. Lewis, as the world was caught totally by surprise by the pandemic. Fear gripped every sector of society because we have never experienced anything like this before. Some who ignored the safety precautions paid with their lives. Young or old, everyone faced to the same threat. Everyone was vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus.
As the world went into lockdown, the feeling of ‘reality being stranger than fiction’ came to mind. We’ve watched countless movies where newscasters would report about some disaster that was going to inflict the world. But what is happening with Covid 19 is real! This global pandemic is not fiction but reality.
As I am writing this blog post, there are 85.6 million reported cases of people infected with Covid-19. 48.1 million cases have recovered and 1.85 million people have died. With frequent updates from the social media, at times you may feel as if all the mayhem is right in your backyard. Prior to Covid-19, we were just busy-busy-busy with our lives, chasing after one thing or another. We felt like we didn’t have time to catch up or take a breather. Then suddenly with Covid-19, everything stopped. What we have been taking for granted earlier may not even exists anymore. The phrase “business as usual” doesn’t mean very much now. The catch-phrase instead is “new normal”.
Only time has stayed the same! It’s still 60 seconds to a minute and 60 minutes to an hour. That didn’t change. Lockdowns of cities and countries have became the new normal. Life became inconvenient, not because of lack of funds, but because there is either a shortage of basic necessities like food supply or even toilet paper.
While it was difficult and even shocking to adjust to this new normal, did you managed to find time to breathe, to take a rest? Or have you filled your schedule with other activities? Do you know how to rest? Or you can’t afford to do so? With the world at a stand-still, did you take the opportunity to reset your life?
It’s not too late. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last. Vaccines have started being administered, but it has also been found that the virus is mutating. There are currently 11 known strains of Covid-19. Scientists and doctors don’t know if the vaccines will help prevent the spread of the disease, but we can cling on to hope as long as we have each other.
In the midst of all this uncertainty, have you taken the time to reflect on your relationships? That’s what will last through time. Everything else, especially your possessions, may become obsolete or inadequate. but relationships forged through hard times, stay relevant.
The paradox of this season or period is that what really matters appears to be what we have mostly taken for granted, during pre-Covid 19 times. And some of us may even have squandered that away. I’m talking about whether you had been touching lives with who you are. With social distancing measures everywhere, it is difficult to be physically close to others now, especially if they are not from your same household. Yet people who have been isolated, long for a compassionate touch from others. But it is not too late to start. Look around you, is there anyone who needs an encouraging word or a card that you can send to tell them you care?
Perhaps you have been blessed with family members or friends you’re staying with, but have not taken notice of them because of your previous busy schedule. Take the time now to make conversations and discover more about each other, rather than immerse yourself with other pursuits. Take time to be a friend or a father to your children or a child to your parents. Take the time to reset your life for what matters!
So how well have you used time or have you wasted time? Touching lives will leave a legacy for what matters. Would you like to start now?
Conversely, there are some of you who have been spending a lot of time on others but not on yourself. This is the time to rest so that you can go the extra mile later on. Take time to breathe. Restore your health, reset your priorities. You decide what matters. Your choice. You matter too!
Artist: Lydia C. Text: Anna G
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A Very Special Bank Account
Imagine that there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400, and carries over no balance from day to day. This means that every evening whatever amount you have failed to use disappears on your bank balance the next day. So what would you do? Well, I’d draw out every dollar every day, of course!
Well, everyone has such a bank. It’s called TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as loss, whatever amount you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. Therefore, there is never not enough time or too much time. Time management is decided by us alone and nobody else. It is never the case of us not having enough time to do things, but the case of whether we want to do it.
