We really need to realize how precious the time we have is. For me, it is the most valuable thing we possess! It really didn’t hit me hard until my oldest son said that he was moving out and started looking for a home of his own. I was devastated! I had flashbacks of moments nursing him and teaching him how to read and now this! that may have been a little dramatic, I don’t know. I was not done with him yet….yet I knew that as a mom raising her son to be good out there in the world, I had done my part. I really knew it was time, but to be honest, I still want him around me. I will always feel that way because all of my boys, at different times in my life, saved me. I am better because they are here….I am HERE because they are here!!!

Okay, so I totally went in a very different direction with that one!

Anywho, I am not a pessimist. Time is not something that we are slowly losing, not in my thoughts anyway. Time is opportunity and I love having a chance to do what makes my soul smile. Not a fan of missed opportunities…are you?

I love doing things that make my heart beat faster. I love hearing new stories from new people…having butterflies in my belly, awkward or facepalm moments. I love the opportunity to try something new, do something scary…even the weird moments…I want them too!

How do we get to experience those things? Time!

Time is precious. Why? Because it can be very short…we don’t know how much time we have…eternity hinges on how we spend it…and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Something that I have learned about myself during this pandemic is that I have turned down many opportunities to have different experiences. I know now that after I think about the possible outcome and the person who invites me…I may be saying yes a little more. I realize that I need to put myself out there a little more.

Now that I am seeing time more as opportunity and realizing that I don’t have as much time as I think, my mindset has changed. I will not always have the opportunities that I have now.

We can’t continue to say, “maybe next time” or “I have plenty of time for that”. Looking at all of the loss of life…missed opportunities for them…we should all see time as opportunity. It should be tougher for us to pass up on something we may never be presented with again. We know that we will not always have opportunities and that should make the ones we have in front of us more appealing.

We will not always be in a position to take advantage of that random moment. To help the elderly lady with her groceries. To jump in the car and take a spontaneous trip. Say yes to a business opportunity that may change your life. We may not always have the physical ability to get up out of the bed and experience the opportunities that a single day can bring!

Time is not returnable or refundable….

We will never get back the time we wasted trying to be “normal” or the times we ignored out intuition. What about the time we thought ourselves out of trying something new or the time we didn’t say hello…goodbye…or how are you feeling? NONREFUNDABLE! We will never get back the time we didn’t say how we really felt, the time we wasted arguing with someone we should have been loving. We will never get back the time we wasting hating and mistreating ourselves so we never really loved people the way we should have and now they are gone. NONREFUNDABLE!

While we are here on this earth, while we are still mobile and have our being…let’s make the most of our time…opportunity! Take the opportunity to do something you might regret (legal and within reason, of course), talk someone you normally would not have talked to. Help someone who seems to have no hope.

Take the opportunity to be funny, unsure, uncomfortable, bold, embarrassed, weird, loving, helpful, honest or even messy.

Our lives are only for a short time when you think of how long this earth has been around. Those experiences are what gives us perspective. They are what help us see that we are truly living…beyond just being here. Our lives will only be as full as we allow them to be. Push yourself out there and get full!