By: Ellie Burgueno
The school holidays are over and along with it come the responsibilities that the school year brings to families. For those of us who have children of school age at home, there’s always the concern for organizing well to meet our work commitments without neglecting the family, and that’s where we remember the great value of time.
It seems like it was yesterday when I knew I was pregnant and nine months passed by flying, in general I think that’s how life goes: flying! My newly born baby has brought great joy to my home, but also great responsibilities, from the special attention that a newborn requires, to finding balance to dedicate time to my other two children, trying to offer quality of time in those moments I spend with each one of them.
Talking about the value of time is talking about a number of important aspects of life. For instance, a well-known reflection says that to realize the value of a year, you have to ask a student who has failed in a final exam. To realize the value of a month, you have to ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of a week, you have to ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of an hour, you have to ask a bride and groom waiting to see each other. To realize the value of a minute, you have to ask the person who has lost the train, the bus or the plane. To realize the value of a second, you have to ask someone who has survived an accident. To realize the value of a millisecond, you have to ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Perhaps talking about time in these days is also talking about a very complex aspect of life, since the least we have is just that: time. We lack time to work, to finish work, to plan something we want in detail, to sleep, to have fun, to do something we like, to travel, to study something we always wanted to study, to share with our family, friends and beloved ones; so we always put in our list of priorities those things that generate economic remuneration, leaving aside the time that must be invested in what matters most.
Unquestionably time is a gift that is priceless because no one can add even a minute to their life no matter how much they wanted to or pay for it even if they could. That’s why planning on having a balanced life where there’s not excess of work but only a reasonable working day, where we can spend quality moments with our family, with our children, and give each one of them the attention they deserve and need, which will create strong family ties and love as well as unforgettable memories for a lifetime, is so important.
We must keep in mind that taking a little time to enjoy with those people who bring us peace, harmony and joy, is not only important but beneficial to our life and health. Being able to balance time to also find and maintain a weekly hobby that distracts us and reactivates us is also something important we must invest time in.
A very wise man once said: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die…” Let’s be attentive so that in the lapse of life we can manage our time in a way that when it elapses we can look back and feel satisfaction for the decisions made.