Time is a Precious Gift

Our social team noticed this quote was one of our most pinned and re-shared posts on all platforms. We took some time to reflect on why this might be. Robert made a note that after a call or meeting, he always thanked people for their time. Many team members said they do the same thing. Perhaps it is our life experiences that teach us why time as a gift. When we ask for and receive an hour from someone’s day, we are compelled to acknowledge that sacrifice because it is one less hour they had to tend to priorities in their life.

Time is a gift

Everyone at one point or another wishes they had more hours in the day. One practical reason is because it is limited. We will be constrained to 24 hours until we are gone from this life. We thank people for giving us their time. We find ourselves losing patience with someone who is taking up too much of our time. Our children at their purist thoughts say they don’t want more toys, they want more time with their parents…play time, reading time, any time. When someone we love dies, we feel regret not spending enough time with them learning about their lives and life lessons. We feel robbed of time.

Time is precious

Maybe what makes that last line so poignant is that time is not a thing you can hold on to, make more of, or stash away in a safe. Time is precious because all the other things you can compare it to can be held, produced and stored away for later. A common definition for precious is – “An object, substance, or resource of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly.” If you read this list of quotes and idioms, it is likely you have heard most if not all of them:

Time heals all wounds
Time is what we want most but what we use worst.
An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can’t buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.
Time moves slowly, but passes quickly.
Living on borrowed time
Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.
Comedy = tragedy + time
All in good time
Wasting time is robbing oneself.

Time is tied to the human condition

We measure our lives by milestones of key events we share like birthdays, graduations, weddings, winning awards, our first kiss, or our first job. When we have a productive day, we relish in crossing items off a To Do list because we spent time well. We contributed to a goal. When we squander time by procrastinating we have anxiety. When we live up to our responsibilities, the anxiety subsides. Time spent listening those we love and admire make us better people. A somewhat recent and trending term is ‘self-care’. This is simply time we intentionally set aside to take care of ourselves. Those who belong to a religion are called to give time to God through worship and to others through charity. Time is an offering, a precious offering.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this post and check out our site.

Our team continues to find a lot of value dedicating time each week writing in a gratitude journal. Recently we completed Week 3. Even in this short amount of time, it is amazing how it quiets the mind and sets a calm tone for the hours that follow. The inspirational quotes make one reflect on positive virtues we all aspire to and the act of writing out gratitude for the events of our lives make one appreciate them even more. If you want to give it a try, download this free sample page and print as many copies as you like. Share the link with a friend. You may be amazed how quickly it can change your life.