4 score and 7 years ago

Time is a really interesting thing. Time gives perspective, time gives experience, time gives patience. But time doesn't really care about any of that. In fact time doesn't really care about anything. Despite what is said or done, 1 minute takes 1 minute, a mere 60 seconds. 10 minutes will never vary from taking 10 minutes. The sun will come up every day despite what the clock reads, and it will set, when it feels the day is done.

But that is the funny thing. If you were to ask anyone what you could do in about 9 seconds most of us would respond with not much. Ask Reggie Miller what you can do in about 9 seconds and he might tell you of the time he scored 8 points in 9 seconds. Ask Micheal Johnson what you can do in about 9 seconds and he might tell you how he ran 100 yards in about that time. But seeing as how most of us are not super star professional athletes, in about 9 seconds most of us don't do too much.

Here is the other funny thing, in chunks of 9 seconds, or 2 minutes, or 10 minutes, or 1 hour, or 1 day, all of us carry out our lives learning, living, and growing. The same amount of time that I have had today, so have you. So have all of us. Time gives freely to anyone and anything that is found on this planet. It carries no prejudice, or bias, it simply goes in spite of what we might try to do about it. We go about our lives gaining knowledge, and experience by the way that we live our lives. Where we spend out time and energy is where we gain knowledge, experience, and talent.

Now think of how time has given perspective as it passes. Think of all the great empires that have lived, thrived, and died in their "time." The Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans. Each one thought to be greater than the last. Each thought to be able to withstand time. Think of the experienced fisherman, and the chuckle he get's out of listening to his son complain about how there just simply can't be any fish in this lake because there isn't one on his line right now. Lastly think of something as simple as, how when you were little you thought there were monsters under your bed or in your closet. Think of how with the simple passing of time, you have "grown" out of that, with little to no effort on your part.

Where you spend your time is where you gain your reputation. Think of the man, who strives all of his life to build a worthy life, with a nice wife, a nice home, and beautiful kids. Now think of how much time it took him to build that life. Now think of how long it would take for him to ruin all of that in one simple moment where he spent his time wrongly. In one simple slip of viewing pornography, or one night where he just isn't where he should be. An entire lifetime could be ruined and changed in one simple moment, all because of how you spend your time. It's not that the 10 seconds is different, it's just how you spent it. 10 seconds after all is 10 seconds.

Time is a funny thing. 1 day, 24 hours, 1440 minutes, 86400 seconds, it is always the same. Constant and unchanging. There are not many things in this life that I can honestly say are truly the same as when I was born. The sun rising every day, that has happened pretty consistently. My family being there every step of the way, that has never changed. And God always listening, watching, and helping. That will never change.

Time will carry on independent of what I do with it. 10 seconds will pass in the next 10 seconds no matter how hard I try to stop it. In becoming who I want to be, It's truly how I spend it that matters.