I'm getting old! (I know, I know... aren't we all?) Three weeks into being 49, I already feel run down. Well, it's not because of my age, exactly; I did spend the last week moving into my new office / art studio space. I'm not nearly done (and I didn't even bother to repair and paint the walls after the former tenant left) but I've been exhausted every evening this week. It doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping well, for various reasons.
I'm not complaining. I am grateful for being healthy and able to pursue new ventures in my life. I'm just growing increasingly aware of how much more stamina and resilience I had ten or fifteen years ago. I took it for granted that I would always be able to stay up past midnight working on things. If you'd told me I'd conk out after supper and then have to drag myself to bed later, I would have thought you were grossly exaggerating. But time marches on—carrying off some of our youthful energy with it—whether we're paying attention or not.
My word for 2021 is TIME. Now more than ever, I recognize that I should never take anything for granted, especially the notion that time will somehow stand still and I'll always be able to do whatever I'm doing today. If you're younger than I am, appreciate what you're able to do right now, but don't forget that time will age you. (Hopefully, that is. The only alternative to ageing is dying young.)
Having said that, getting older doesn't mean you have to stop being productive or adventurous or curious. Sometimes I think I've lived more in the last four years than in the previous 40 . . . but it has taken more effort, more courage, more determination, more faith. It has come with the understanding that nothing is more valuable than time. You can always earn more money, but you cannot get more time.
J.R.R. Tolkien said: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
How are you investing or using the time you've been given? I'm not suggesting you obsess about the details of your schedule or fuss with time management, but rather to step back and look at the bigger picture of where your life will inevitably lead you if you continue to do the things you're doing. Is that where you want to go? Should your time be spent on other things? Should you be resting more? Spending more time with family? Taking more time for your hobbies? Cutting back on screen time? Pursuing a different career path?
Don't be scared to make changes you know in your heart are ultimately better for you. You don't need to rush into them, but do yourself a favour and don't stay stuck where you don't really want to be.
I leave you with these words from Ephesians 5:15-17 — "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."
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