Time

These are excerpts from an article in our local paper by Father Lou Guntzelman:
"What is time? Time is existence parceled out bit by bit. Or, as one philosopher put it, 'time is the fleeting succession of "nows." ' The moments you took to read these first sentences were at first present to you. You used them in a certain way- to read and think- but they're gone now. They slipped over the invisible line from present into past, never to be possessed again.
The same for this day. We have it now, we've never lived it before, and after it has passed from our present use, we'll never have this day again. It can be recalled only by memory. How precious that makes time!"
I love how he puts this! The reminder that every single moment of our time is for us to use or lose is great! How often do we waste minutes or even hours of a day doing things that won't matter at all in the long run? It's interesting to think that every second of present is constantly slipping into the past, into a place that we can never actually re-visit.

"What is time for? Time is for becoming. Time is for the acorn to become the oak, the kitten to become a cat, a human to become himself or herself. God is. We become. ....Human beings are those who, as Sartre put it, form themselves, choose themselves, decide themselves. There is a call within us, a call to wholeness and uniqueness. Living in time well means we are guided by that call. We make our choices according to it rather than according to the will or manipulation of others. We enter into time well when we learn to be more conscious and aware, and when we live unselfishly and as fully as possible."
This so fully captures the whole reason for our existence in this mortal sphere!! I left out some parts of the article (mostly for space reasons!) but I think it's interesting that he states a truth that I don't think he was even trying to when he says God is and we become- how true is that! God IS everything that we are trying to BECOME, and that's why we're here in the first place!

"Where is time taking us? ... Time carries us into the timeless part of existence, that finale we call eternity. There the minutes and months and years of time give way to a breathtaking and unimaginable now where all is present and complete and fulfilled."
What a beautiful way of describing eternity.

I love coming across little tidbits of wisdom and perspective in unexpected places. I'm not surprised to find such great thoughts from a Catholic priest, but it is a bit unusual to come across it in a small local newspaper. I'm so thankful for the many interesting and varied ways that Heavenly Father brings things to my attention. I love taking the time to consider what I'm doing with all of my time. Is blogging a good use? (I would emphatically say "YES" even after pondering for awhile!) But what about some of the other things that take so much of my time? I'm reminded of the good, better, best talk again. Am I careful in considering which is the best use of my time? I hope that I'm getting better at it. I've found that I'm not really into video games or many of the mindless tv shows that are on so I don't have to fight that temptation as much as others may have to. I do love to read, though, and sometimes have to make sure that I put down a good book so that I can read THE Good Book! It's so much easier to read fun and entertaining things, and not always so enjoyable to read scriptures. This article has given me a fresh perspective on it though. The little bit of my present that I spend on the scriptures is just that much more that I am spending on becoming. It's so easy to get sucked into all of the daily chores and responsibilities of life and end up forgetting that our end goal really is to become like God. And that will take time, lots and lots of time. And time doesn't stop or wait for anyone.