Changing time
I treasure Saturday mornings, when my wife sleeps in and I’m up since 7:30. Plenty of time to do some inspiring writing. It’s especially pleasant when there’s a fresh blanket of snow outside the window and big flakes falling by, like there are this morning. Here are my thoughts for today:
Time is a funny thing, it keeps ticking by no matter what we do. Time makes us older, makes us forget, and makes us wonder what it will be bringing with it down the line, but like James Taylor once said in a song “Time isn’t really real…” It’s a way of marking the progression of life. Sure time moves by, but we don’t need to always be aware of the ticking.
If we didn’t know time, maybe no one would care about their age, they would just grow and change and be different as their life progressed. Since we do know time, we put an urgency on our lives, we need to rush things to be done by a certain “time”. We worry because our “time” will be up someday. Time hurts as well has helps, but don’t give it the advantage.
We can’t go back, and we can’t leap ahead, but we can change time. Even if we can’t stop it, or reverse it, we can alter our own time. Time can tick by, but our time belongs to us and we can do what we please with it.
In the song “Time and Motion” on the album “Test for Echo” by Rush, Neil Peart writes:
Time and motion
wind and sun and rain
Days collect like boxcars in a train
Fill them up with precious cargo
Squeeze in all that you can find
Spontaneous elation
And the long enduring kind
We need to make the most of our time. Fill it with things that bring us enjoyment and wonder. Things we will benefit from. The line “days collect like boxcars in a train” illustrates the fact that our days string along behind us as we move ahead, the past trails along behind us. We need to fill those days up with things that enrich our lives, so we end up with a train-full of neat memories that we can stroll through every now and then.
Granted, we can’t control everything so there will be the occasional sad memories, but we can at least make our lives richer through experience, learning and interaction. Live time, don’t just pass it.
Okay, I can’t discuss time and life without refering to the writing of Neil Peart more than once. There is a line Neil wrote for the Rush song “Enemy Within” that encourages me to be a doer, not a dozer. There is only one letter difference between those two words, and the “Z” is something we can catch when we’re sleeping.
The line is “Is it living or just existence? It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance…” There again is the idea that we need to do something with our lives, not just drone through it. Fill up those boxcars so your life isn’t a train of empty containers. Live. It also hints at perseverance.
Here’s a funny thing. While there was no pause between this paragraph and the previous on something did occur, and went totally unnoticed by you, dear reader. I went to make breakfast and after eating, began assembling the Christmas tree with my wife. Yeah we bought an artificial. We then strung the lights and by that time it was noon so we ate lunch. Then, wouldn’t you know it, we decided to go out and shovel the driveway, the front walk, and clear off the cars.
Busy day there, and after all that I cleaned myself up, had dinner, and now, a total of 11 hours later, here I am. Hey, we know how to fill those boxcars around here.
Though some may not consider shoveling snow an enriching experience, I enjoyed it because I was able to spend time with my wife. Even setting up the Christmas tree was nice, sort of a tradition in the making. Now the cats have a new place to curl up, at least until Santa shows up with all the goodies.
Let me wrap this up by stressing this point: Don’t let time run your life, give time a run for the money and live a little, you may be surpirised to find out how long you can last, with a little enthusiasm. Life is not for spectators, get in the game.
(Rush lyric excerpts property of Rush and Anthem Entertainment.)
The lyrics and music of Rush are truly inspiring. Visit their site to learn more about the band and the music at Rush.com
