This Hour Has Only 60 Minutes

14 of 45 Moments of Wonder

I am working on my basement. It feels like it will never get done. When I started the job, it was fun. I was motivated. And now…it just feels like a lot of long and boring work. I can’t say I wish I had never started it. I am glad to have started it and I will be glad when it is finished.

In fairness, I have been working on it for about 7 years. I started it before we had the kids and we had a wonderful boarder and friend who stayed with us. And then he left. And then the basement didn’t get done.

Ever felt like that? Like something you don’t want to do is taking forever? The task is becoming a dark and sad thing that needs to be done, and because I am not enjoying it, time slows right down when I am working on it.

Have you ever noticed that when we have to do something we don’t want to do, that time feels like it is passing more slowly? Do you notice that when we are feeling sad or lonely, the same feeling of time slowing down? When I find myself in a dark place of sadness or despair, I wonder if it will ever end?

But even the darkest hour is only 60 minutes. It may feel longer, but the point is that there is an end to it. Our hard times will always get better. Our most difficult hour can only last 60 minutes.

Our good times are also only 60 minutes. But have you noticed that when you are doing something that feels really good, that you really want to do, that time speeds up and an hour can feel like a moment in time?

Everything can change faster than we believe it can and faster than we might want it to. Our dark hours only last 60 minutes and our brightest ones too. We need to learn to take advantage of every moment. We need to recognize that we can learn a lot in 60 minutes and that 60 minutes is just a brief blip on the radar of our lives.

Live like this hour could change everything (not like its your last). I grow tired of that cliche phrase. Live like this hour or day is your last? I understand the sentiment, but none of us knows this and I guarantee if we did, we would not live the way we think we would.

Live like this hour of darkness could teach you the greatest lesson of your entire life. I need to learn to change my mindset during dark and lonely times. Rather than wanting it to just end, what can I learn? How can I grow during this time?

Live like this hour of joy could be taken from you any time and be present with it. Don’t half-heartedly be there in body but not in mind or spirit. I struggle to sit through my kids’ hockey game and practice without going on my phone to check social media or to get some work done. Saturday, however, I decided (as I knew I was doing this post) to intentionally stay off it, with the occasional check for alerts, and just watch. What if my ability to watch them play was suddenly gone? Would I want my last game to be one I spent on my phone? I don’t mean to sound morbid. Honest. But just as the dark hours only have 60 minutes, so too, the brightest ones. Nothing is permanent. Nothing lasts forever.

So today, be fully present in the time you have. You get 24 hours. What will you do with it? Will today fly by or drag on? Either way, tomorrow is a new day and today, with its highlights and lows, will be done – gone forever.

It’s time for me to get back to the basement…that job needs to be done and gone forever too.