What Can You Do With Your Minutes As Opposed To Your Hours?

How much of your life have you wished away?

When my daughter was a toddler, I remember sharing with a friend, "Can't wait till she is no longer in diapers." She responded with a great piece of advice, "Don't wish the time away because it goes too fast. But enjoy every minute, no matter how challenging it is."

We tend to keep looking for the next biggest thing when we're young. The first kiss, high school graduation, then off to university and landing a great job. Marriage, a new home, kids, etc.

I can't wait till the weekend.

We eagerly look forward to the weekends, spring, and the next vacation. But life is made up in the here and now of unplanned, defining moments - a chat with a total stranger that turns into a life-long friendship. 

What your minutes can do.

It takes between 30 and 180 seconds without oxygen before you lose consciousness. Don't be in too much of a rush when life is made up of the minutes that make up your day. 

Life-defining moments

I recall waiting in the doctor's office for the results of a biopsy when I was twenty-three. The minutes seemed like an eternity.

And the time I almost drowned during a lesson on diving. A friend of mine dived in too soon after I did. She landed on me. I was ten, but I can recall the minutes as scenes of my short life flashed through my mind until I was lifted out of the swimming pool.

I thought this only happened in the movies. But I can still remember the diving instructor frantically yelling my name!

I will never forget the minutes when my two-year-old wandered off in a shopping mall just days after a five-year-old was snatched from a nearby playground, never to be found again.

Within those few minutes, I choked on a fear I had never felt before. Thankfully, I found her. But those were the longest few minutes of my life.

There is power in those minutes.

So, what can you do with your minutes instead of your hours? 

• Make that call you've put off for fear of rejection.
• Meditate to still your mind so it is not consumed with thoughts that keep you entrapped.
• Talk to a stranger while waiting for the bus and possibly alleviate someone's loneliness.
• Journal to heal festering wounds.
• Lend a helping hand to a neighbor.
• Say a prayer.
• Hug a little tighter.
• Scribble an idea for a book.
• Breathe deeply.
• Say, "I am sorry. Can we try again?"

The essence of life.

Life is not found in our hours or days. We see the essence of life in our minutes when we are present and intentional. If you knew it was your last goodbye to someone you loved, wouldn't you want to linger? And say what you've needed to say but never felt that sense of urgency.

When you reflect on your life, what moments can you recall that impacted your life? They could be something traumatic, like words slug to sting. Or minutes spent with your mom as she took her last breath.

The minutes it took for your dad to pack up and leave home. Or the minutes you stood at the alter to say, "I do," only to find hours of agony regretting those minutes.

I remember the minutes of feeling a sense of triumph at climbing the highest peak where I was living. The hours of training melted into the back of my memory!

And the first few minutes of my daughter's life as they placed her on my breast eclipsed the nine months she needed to prepare for her entry into this world.

It takes minutes to build a bridge of connection. And minutes to tear it down. Minutes to transform thoughts that have plagued for years. And minutes to change the entire trajectory of your life.

Instead of scrolling for hours on end, why not take a minute to kiss your spouse a little longer. Take a minute to turn away from your phone and respond to your children. Be fully present, my friend, and treasure every minute of your life because time waits for no one!