I was running a little late this morning and by the time all the babies had been fed, I looked at the time and realized I would never make it to the lake if I was hoping to catch the sunrise.
My arrival time needs to be 35 minutes before the actual sunrise, because the whole color thing for me starts happening around 30 minutes before the sun hits the horizon.
They call it civil twilight and much like time, it waits for no one.
Yes, there have been times I wish the world’s rotation could just slow down for a moment, when I am running a little late. But then everyone on the underside of the planet would fall off and drift into space, just because I couldn’t get my lazy ass out of bed on time.
So, accepting that aspect of control would be wrong I, like all of us, run on a clock that isn’t of our own making.
This morning then, the only realistic option was to stay closer to home. Knowing that I need water in my shots, meant that the softball fields on Walker Road was my only real option.
They are less than 2 minutes from my front door, so they generally even accommodate last minute decisions like this.
I hope you like this little selection of shots. They show the progression of color changes and I changed my perspective a couple of times to give the “frog’s view”. And btw in one of the last shots, I spotted a feather floating on the surface as I held the camera about an inch above the water. That was a really tough shot, not least because I am too fat to be bending that low without falling face-first into the water.
In any event, I didn’t fall in, much to the disappointment of the alligator about ten feet to my right. And as I drove back home, I mused over the role that time played in my decision this morning and how much it always plays a role.
We live our lives subject to time. From the moment we are born until the moment when our time here runs out.
Time defines our work schedule. It defines non-work activities. And for many people they struggle with finding the balance for both.
Not having enough time is a common complaint for most of us and so we end up having to prioritize things that we must or wish to do.
Time is responsible for our aging. Many of us look back to when we weren’t so fat or so old and wish we could reverse at least part of the process.
Time is also a key factor in our relationships.. Do most of us feel we spend enough time with our loved ones and do they feel we spend enough with them?
Time is one of the biggest characteristics of how we enjoy our lives. Do we spend enough of it on the passions versus the chores? Those who do, tend to live much happier lives than those who don’t.
So, while the passage of time and how much time we actually end up having are two aspects of time for which we have no control, it is important that we take as much control of the time-aspect that we can.
Many people waste time. They spend time doing useless or trivial things. Young people, in particular, behave as if their individual portion of time is endless. They don’t understand that time is a privilege, not a right.
Many people procrastinate and allow the time clock to run on important stuff while they pursue less-meaningful pursuits. While putting off decisions and not getting around to things, they ignore the fact that time will eventually take the opportunity away.
Older people often behave as if they already have run out of time. They use their age as a reason not to even try something.
What I have learned over the years is that the most important aspect of time is the here and now. This is the one piece of the timeline that we can absolutely affect.
Yesterday is already in the past and therefore is pointless to dwell on. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone and therefore pointless to defer to.
No; today is what matters. The here and now.
Doing what we need to do or wish to do … it all needs to be done now.
If there is someone you need to apologize to or tell them you love them; you need to do it now.
If there is something that you wish you had time to do, well you do. You have the “now”.
For many years I have believed that time is the enemy for all of us. We can struggle all we want with time, but eventually time wins and we lose. It’s an eventuality that exists for everyone on the planet and always will.
Therefore bearing the wisdom in mind that we “keep our friends close and our enemies closer”, we should always be aware of time.
Whatever goals we have in life, we should be working on them now.
It is a fool’s errand thinking that we will eventually get around to them. Because the truth is that time will eventually get around to us first.
