Time Wished Away
The other day I caught myself complaining in spite of myself
Wishing away my time as I longed for something else
I wished that Monday was Friday
and that weekends would never end
I wished that special days were every day
and time became my friend
I wished that my time was my time
not on loan to someone else
There I was complaining
in spite of myself
But as I stepped into my day a thought occurred to me
thank goodness that wishing for something could never make it be
Because if Monday was Friday
that would be time lost
And unending weekends would carry
a very heavy cost
And any day above ground
well that’s a special day
For it’s a day I’ve never seen
and one that won’t come again my way
Time I may not control and really that’s for the best
Time well spent is time spent complaining less
And so a valuable lesson I learned
and one I won’t soon forget
Every day is a blessing
and I’ll enjoy every bit
Valerie Ray
copyright 2007
The other day I was in the elevator at work exchanging small talk with another person. We were just two strangers passing time while temporarily occupying the same space. But as we chatted, I heard myself several times complaining.
Now normally I don't think of myself as a complainer. I would like to think I'm a pretty open and positive person. I'm the one who ususally see's the light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining after every dark cloud. Me complaining?
Perish the thought!!
But as I stood in that eleveator and heard myself doing just that, a thought occured to me. Not only was I complaining, but I sounded pretty ungrateful too. Sure maybe we were only talking about how hot it was and how we couldn't wait for friday to get here so we could start our weekends, but later I realized that what I was actually doing was wishing my time away. And even more than that, I was being unappreciative to the time I was being given.
How often do we longingly look in the distance to an uncertain future, preparing and hoping for something yet to come, and yet we rush through our every day moments as if we have some right to be there. Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us really. When we get right down to it, all we have are our right now moments.
If we have hot weather, we can be appreciative that its not freezing outside. If we have a tuesday or a wednesday, we can be glad we lived to see a new day. If we have jobs, we can be happy that we're not unemployed. No matter what lies in our right now momets, we can always find something to be appreciative about.
And thats not just about being positive. Thats about being grateful and recognizing our blessings.
These days I spend a lot less time complaining. I'm more conscience about what I let fall out of my mouth. Even about the weather. Instead I spend a lot more time counting my blessings, and being more grateful for all of my moments.
Even the ones spent waiting in an elevator.
