Not enough time...

There will never be enough time to do all that we want to do in this life. Or at least, that is how most people see it. They always insist they want to do something else with their life much like I insist I want to write my book, but do nothing towards actually getting there. I keep telling myself I will find the time for that dream but I never do. People are always so busy being busy  they rarely realize at the end of it all that some vital parts end up missing in their lives. 

I have a few friends who are so stressed out at the kind of work hours they have to put in, they simply cannot cope with even minor ups and downs in their personal life. Every avoidable, almost insignificant issue assumes huge proportions because they have no emotional resources left to find any balance. And yet one cannot go around pointing it out because then flow the explanations of financial expectations and certain lifestyle aspirations that simply must be met. I wonder whether after all that they will still find the time to be content. I don’t think that each and every box on the wish-list needs to be ticked in order to find that elusive happiness or perfect state of mind. Time together is what is crucial for any relationship but unfortunately that is exactly what so many choose to put on the back burner. By the time they get that promotion and that raise or that fancy car or house, they would have forgotten how to be happy or lost entirely the ones whom they had planned to be happy with!

I don’t understand when people I care about do not bother to stay in contact for long periods together. When friends forget to call you or even send you a line on your birthday, you wonder whether even that once a year effort is too much for them. When those you consider important in your life do not respond to your consistent attempts at keeping in touch, you realize that its only because they take you for granted and see you as a low-priority task to be dealt with when they have nothing else to do.  It is then that you need to open your eyes and acknowledge that you are in fact doing nothing more than setting yourself up for unnecessary hurt.

On the other hand I am blessed to have a handful of friends who respond to my call or mail immediately – who make the time for me just because I matter to them. Everyone has the same amount of time. If I write or call or take the time to find out how you are, its not because I have more time than you, its because my time is the most valuable gift I can give someone who is important to me.  Ultimately the lesson is simplicity itself – spend more time doing things you love with the people you love and care for and you will never find yourself too busy for happiness…