What is your time worth?

Here's a thought... Take a minute or two and ponder on whether you could debate both sides of the issue of whether aliens from outer space are real or not.

(insert clock ticking noise here)

Ok, now tell me. How do you feel knowing that because of me, you wasted a couple moments of your life that you will NEVER get back. Ok, sure it's not so big a deal in relation to the number of years an average human lives, and all that can be accomplished in all those years. But have you ever added it up? My commute to work is about 30 minutes one-way. One hour a day. About 260 hours a year. The question I ask myself is "Am I making the best use of those 260 hours?" I haven't for years. The radio morning shows are ok, but it's not like I'm doing something productive. I could have been learning a new language, or meditating on my day and setting daily goals. I'll be honest, it's gotten better since I started carpooling with a cute girl, but there are so many other areas in my life that I can find room to do something useful.

Next question would be, "What do I consider useful?" I'm sure a lot of people have a bunch of canned answers out there for that one. There's always cause for people to preach that we should 'Get away from the TV', go exercise, spend time with loved ones, etc. Well, how about this? -Do Nothing -

Do nothing... Try it for a sec. Here's a whole bag of 'Do nothing' for ya! I did 4 days of 'do nothing' on my last vacation, and I learned that it was the best use of my time. (..and I'm not talking about sleeping. I mean relax and reflect). There is nothing in this world like getting refreshed. I'm not saying those canned options aren't good. Heck, they're downright necessary. But I believe people will always need time to deflate. You can't do that watching the news I've learned. Something was brought to my attention today. I've been having a problem sleeping at night for several weeks. After talking about it I realized exactly what I was doing wrong. The last thing I do each evening before bed is read the news on the Internet. Specifically, I read the events happening in Iraq. All of a sudden I was very aware that I spend quite a bit of time awake thinking about atrocities, beheadings, Iraqi people looking for hope, soldiers being spit on, etc. Hmmm, wonder why I can't sleep... My small point there is that you become what you surround yourself with. We've all heard that before.

So today, I've changed my routine up a bit. I'll get a short update in the morning about the war, read some other useful news about current events, and in the evening is when I'll dedicate my time for reflections like this.

To answer my question above, I've decided my time is worth a lot when it comes to spiritual growth and maturity. I could be out there living for 'Happy Hour', or 'Sleeping in till noon', but I think I'd much rather spend that time in a hammock reading a book or working on a casual hobby. What's my time worth? It's worth my sanity.

I'm starting to get feedback from many of you who read these posts and it's encouraging to know that my thoughts are out there for my own taste of 'peer accountability'. Thanks for all the words of encouragement.

**I've been given this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I'm exchanging a day of my life for it. -Author Unknown.**

-Gary