Time is a mysterious thing. We can't see it but we can see the results of it. We can measure it but we can't control it. Today I want to talk about marking time to bring more awareness of its passing.
A few years ago I read something that brought serious attention to my lack of awareness of time passing in my life and how I was spending that time.
Today the average person dies at 70 years of age. So if you are 20 years old, you have just 2,500 weekends left to live. If you have turned 30 you have 2,000 weekends left until you die. If you are 40 years old, you have only 1,500 weekends left. If you are 50 then you have just 1000 weekends, and if you are 60 you have a mere 500 weekends left.**
Rather than days or moments many of us look at the passing of time in weeks often living specifically for the weekend. Counting time in years keeps our mortality at a distance. Counting by weekend keeps life a little closer but how are we spending those weekends?
When I read the quote above I was 50 years old and had just spent the last ten years of my life totally living for a party weekend. It shook me and my husband up so much that we decided to create a way to track our weekends passing.
Based on our ages we counted up the approximate number of weekends we had left to live. We purchased a lovely crystal vase and filled it full of glass marbles to represent the weekends left in our life. Each Friday we remove one marble and place it in a visible location. Then on Monday the marble goes in the trash.
We started this exercise six years ago and the decrease in marbles is definitely noticeable now. We don't talk about it much, but each Friday the marble is in its place bringing regular awareness of our use of time.
It will be interesting to see the continued effect on our use of time as the vase gets emptier. As we track the lapsing of time, keeping present visible between the past and the future; we become more aware of the moment, the now in which we are.
HOW ARE YOU MARKING THE PASSING OF TIME IN YOUR LIFE?
You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. ~ James 4:14 (God's Word Translation)
CLICK HERE for a beautiful video to meditate on as you appreciate the passing of time.
** The Evidence Bible
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