The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
                                                                       —Leo Tolstoy
We are but mere days, hours and minutes away from the end of the year 2017. Some people might say good riddance and thank God it’s over, while others feel nostalgic and are sorry to see the year come to an end. For some, this year has been bittersweet with celebrations and monumental occasions, but also with unspeakable pain, disappointment and loss. I think we can all say that 2017 has been a year to remember, no matter how we choose to remember it.
Whether we feel rushed by time or whether it passes so slowly we feel it cannot be endured, we must all contend with the incredible impact that time has on our lives. If honest, many of us would admit that we don’t always manage our time effectively. In fact, many might say that they’ve wasted an enormous amount of time in the past year. Whether intentionally or not, time is often wasted on many things and in many ways. Wasted holding grudges, wasted on failing relationships or unfulfilled goals and aspirations. Time can literally be wasted doing nothing at all other than staring out into space unable to cope with life or life’s challenges. But no matter what else we must contend with in life, time, in all of its forms, is something we all will wrestle with at some point.
As we close out this tumultuous, exasperating, confusing, awe-inspiring, oppositional and unprecedented year, let us remember that time lost can never be regained but our perspective can certainly be adjusted. We must remember to be gentle with one another and forgive one another for transgressions past (if it is at all possible). Patience is a virtue that most often comes in small supply, but is absolutely necessary in complicated and complex circumstances. As we reflect on the road behind us and look forward towards the road ahead, may we find the courage to look back at the places where we failed or fell short and strategize how we might approach things differently going forward. It is in that effort that perhaps the outcome might be different and possibly more satisfactory.
As we look forward, may we have the ability to recognize that change takes time and perseverance? There are no instant answers or easy solutions. Rather than warring with Time and resisting Patience, let us press forward into the New Year with a sense of realistic optimism. Not with fake resolutions that we have no hope of achieving or with a “wish and a prayer”, but with the recognition that TIME is passing and the amount of Time we each have been allotted is Finite. The choice of what you do with it in the next week, month or year could be the catalyst for Change…one way or another. Choose wisely.
#HappyNewYear
