How effectively do we use our time?
It's a serious question.
Looking back at forty-one years of my life, I can see where my time was spent wisely.
I can also see where it wasn’t.
Bearing in mind the lessons of our respective pasts, we now need to consider our future. The years ahead (G-d willing) are each comprised of months. The months are a string of weeks; weeks of days; days of hours; hours of minutes, minutes of seconds.
So the broad structure of my life is actually a combination of small bricks; nuggets of time that coalesce to create a lifetime.
And that’s the way I need to chart my journey toward a meaningful life. While I should certainly consider my life’s 'big picture', I really need to tackle life in bite-sized pieces.
Each second, minute and hour is an opportunity for substantive living, and they can all add up to a meaningful life.
A teacher of mine once told me that he'd changed his life 'in ten minutes'. When I appeared incredulous, he explained that he was always alert to productive use of time; when he had ten minutes with 'nothing to do', he would consciously find a positive way to use that slice of time.
If I have relationships I'd like to strengthen, topics I'd like to know more about etc., then even ten minutes can be productively leveraged.
But it takes pro-active thought. If I take time to call a friend, it shouldn't be a 'time-filler'; it should be a pro-active decision to deepen a relationship.
If I take time for prayer and reflection, it should be a pro-active decision to connect my life with something Higher.
Even ‘down time’ isn’t necessarily non-productive.
The Rebbe once noted - with curiosity - that G-d created a world in which we are forced to spend time sleeping. Torah is productivity-oriented, so why the unavoidable need for ‘down time’?
The Rebbe explained that rest (or vacation) should not be viewed as an escape from productive life; it’s simply an opprtunity to recharge one’s batteries for re-engagement. It’s all part of the creative journey.
Bottom line: Life is about making a difference. The next ten minutes are a slice of that life. Use them for your own growth, or for others'; but use them consciously.