if it don't make dollars, then it don't make sense

my friend and i were talking yesterday and i broke out in sidesplitting laughter when she dusted off that oldie-but-goodie that i've heisted for my blog title today. we were talking about wasting time (in her case, it was tied to dating the wrong type of dude), and how some things are just purpose-LESS from the get-go. i started thinking about this issue of time. ever since i started my new gig, i've been wishin'/hopin'/prayin' for an extra hour to be added onto my day. with so much activity cramped into each day, another 60 mins would do my body good. i could sleep...or eat....or catch up on my reality shows....or blog....or_____.... precious Me-Time that gets lost in the shuffle of day-to-day hustle and bustle. since it appears that my prayer request isn't gonna be answered anytime soon (yes, sometimes He does indeed say NO, lol), i've got to work with what i got.

time is fleeting....as i've aged a bit and matured, i've started to think about my own mortality. being "grown" causes you to think about this thing called Life--what you've done with it thus far, and what you will do with it going forward. if you've had children, you watch how fast they grow up and you wonder where the time went. you watch your parents and grandparents age and come to depend on you more. you notice how the seasons fly by, birthday milestones seeming to come faster and faster, each year a blur as you blow your horn and sing Auld Lang Syne to welcome the new one.

i started to think about intangible things that i (we) waste our time on--being mad, being depressed, being bitter, being angry, complaining. none of us do those things ALL the time, but some of us do (some of) those things a little too much. a friend of mine spoke the truth in love to me a couple of weeks ago. she told me that she felt that it seemed like i was chronically pessimistic--that i wrote all of those great blogs, spent a lot of time encouraging other folks, but wasn't practicing it for myself. i appreciated her sentiment and did some serious introspection about it, and i found that i WAS spending too much time being down...i WAS pouring out encouragement on other folks but not encouraging/believing it for myself (whole 'nother blog topic)....and, not only was it bringing me down (and concerning those around me)...,.it was a WASTE of TIME.

why?

it's ok to experience and express the range of human emotion, including the negative, but it is NOT ok to dwell there.

and since i can't get an additional hour, i'd rather spend the 24 that i have being full of joy! laughing at the mishaps, expressing gratitude for the unexpected, appreciating the lessons in the painful circumstances, and fastening my seatbelt for the bumpy rides.

time well spent....with a priceless ROI.