Time is an allowance. It arrives in a sealed envelope delivered by an accountant. We are not permitted to open the envelope, but we’re told, “You must spend the contents of this envelope down to the final second.”
“But how will I know …?”
“Your accountant knows and will tell you when it is all gone.”
So, we meet people and we learn things and it all takes time. We know the envelope is getting lighter, but we never know what’s left.
Spending Patterns
We spend our time getting better at things we enjoy. We spend some in conversations, getting to know people better. We spend some in silly arguments. We spend some in confrontations for very good reasons, trying to make space for justice, fairness, or to erase ignorance. We spend some in resting and some to be entertained. We spend so much at work, trying to provide for ourselves, our families, or others. We probably spend our time a lot like we spend our money.
As we become involved in more lives and in more activities, we find that people have firm ideas about how we allocate our time. Part of it is theirs, they feel. And they guard it jealously.
We, meanwhile, try to keep things in balance, but we learn that achieving balance is costly. Our time is finite. Each activity in our life has its own account, one which we must fill by drawing on another account. So, the balance may be all out of kilter.
The “balance” we create is an appropriation of time that permits us the conceit of feeling in charge of our moments even as we create deficits that will later haunt us. We draw from the family account to cover expenses in the work account. After we top off our recreation accounts, we realize we no longer have strong balances in the accounts that would have allowed us to make a difference around us.
Many of us share an attitude with our government. We’ll just make more. Out of money? No problem. Print more.
We think we can do the same. “I need to make more time to …” The difference is that our Government tries to solve its money problems with time. We try to solve our time problems with money. We buy gadgets, supplements, organic foods, and things intended to provide security in hopes of extending our lives. Our lives aren’t ours to extend. What we have is in the envelope, the allowance with the mystery balance.
Handle with Care
It’s all in the envelope. It was delivered to us at conception, when we were totally focused on taking and survival.
If you’re reading this, you’ve grown, aged, and your sphere of influence has vastly expanded. So have your choices. You can maintain that fetal attitude and reserve all your time for yourself, you can continue to fill the work account in hopes that your retirement account lasts as long as you do. You can divert more time to service, creating beauty, or bringing brilliant ideas to fruition.
I’m not advocating any particular approach, but we often step back to consider our financial picture. Why not do the same with our temporal picture? It could be long overdue for adjustment.
I’ve kept you long enough. Your envelope is that much lighter now. Think about it. I hope you make the absolute most of your time.
