The time is now

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

I have been thinking about something lately. As I scroll through Facebook, and see all the friends who are hitting the 40 year mark on this earth, it has gotten me considering time. And, more than that, what we do with our time. As a child, I remember thinking that I had all the time in the world. There would always be time to everything that I could ever imagine wanting to do. Some people call those “bucket lists,” but I have always called them “dreams.” Dreams because, for whatever reason, I can’t do them now, but I sure want to eventually. One I have had as long as I can remember is to go to Australia. Although I am not sure what caused that desire to spark, but it has just always been a place I wanted to visit. Now, when I was younger, there were things like school and lack of money that kept me from doing some of the things that I dreamed of. Now, at 40 years old, I have a full time job and family that requires most of my time (and no, I wouldn’t give up either). And there still isn’t really enough money to do some of the things I would like to. So what is my point? It is this: if not now, when? If you do not take time to do some of your bucket list items now, when will you have the time? From my perspective, and I really don’t see how there could be any other perspective on this, you only have one “today.” Now, I fully understand the concept of time, and the fact that as soon as midnight hits, tomorrow becomes the new today and the current today is considered yesterday. But, be honest: will you ever have another day that will play out exactly like “today?” No, you won’t. So I propose that in this one moment in time, do whatever you can, tackle one of your dreams. Am I saying shirk all responsibility and go crazy completing you bucket list? Absolutely not. But none of us have a schedule so filled that we can squeeze in a sunset horseback ride, or a weekend trip to the mountains. Maybe you have a chance to go to Las Vegas, at no expense to you. I say, go. There will never be another today, and there may not even be a tomorrow. The old saying about tomorrow not being promised? That is definitely true, so make the most of your today. So, take the time to do something. Run a marathon, take a mountain hike, or visit that city you have always dreamed of, because the time is now. And when it is gone, there is no getting it back. And, personally, I would rather have stories to tell, than a mind full of dreams that were never pursued.