Take the Time

So, to put this in context, this is my fifth speech for Toastmasters. I joined the club in January and am now the Treasurer. It's been a great experience so far since I've met a lot of quality people, I've honed some of my writing skills, I've gotten practice giving speeches and I've gained some self confidence. I give this speech on Monday. It's suppose to be at least 5 minutes, but right now it runs about 3:15. It should run longer when I say it by memory and input gestures and movement, but I still need to add more to it since 1:45 is a lot of time to make up.

I might post my earlier speeches as well, just because I put a lot of time into crafting them, and sadly when I deliver them I don't always say them right and they are designed with certain wordplay and content ordering that doesn't end up coming through because of that.

In life, our most precious resource is time.
You cannot turn back the clock.
You cannot change the past.
You cannot freeze time.
Time is always marching forward. Worst of all, you never know how much time you actually have left.

Mister Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and guests.

Does this subject make you anxious?
It should.

Everyone should have a list of things they still want to do with their lives. If you don’t, then are you really living? Goals are our lifeblood. They keep us moving forward, growing, working towards a better future.

But even knowing all of this, I present you with a contrary thought. Take the time.
Take the time to enjoy the journey.
Take the time to experience life.
Take the time to soak it all in, absorb all you can.

The time spent between actions quickly disappears from memory. Sometimes, this time is even spent in an unconscious fog. I remember a time in high school when I would wake up, throw on some clothes, grab my books, get in the car and the next thing I knew the whole day had gone by and I hardly remembered any of it. So do not spend all your time in transition.

Do you remember the trip to work this morning? Maybe you do if it was stressful, or unusual. But if it was just like the day before then it’s already a blur with all the others just like it. And if you only remember it because it was stressful, is that a good thing? If you only remember bad things, how can you feel positive about your life? Spend your time in the moments of your choosing.

Sometimes at work, I like to walk to the strip mall where I buy my lunch.
Yes, it would be much quicker to drive.
I could rush there, buy my food, rush back and eat at my desk. Then at the end of the day I could get home a little earlier. But something is wrong with that.
That is a life always spent in transition, waiting to get to the next big thing.

When I walk, I take my time.
I stretch a little.
I look around.
I am conscious of the ground under my feet.
I take the time to “smell the roses”. Rather than focusing on where I’m going and finding the fastest route there, I’m focused on where I am. I am in the moment. And I enjoy the experience. It’s nothing special, but it’s time that I am choosing to spend in the manor that I want to spend it. It is my time.

Think of it like this:
After much research, you find an $80 bottle of wine that fits with your tastes. You open it up and pour out the first glass.
Would you chug that glass?
Would you race through the bottle, downing one glass after the next?
Would you pour it down the drain so you can open the next bottle?
Of course not!
You’d probably look at the wine in the glass. Swirl it around some, smell the aroma, take one sip at a time. And you would savor it. You would drink it slowly, noticing each hint of flavor, enjoying all it has to offer and feeling the reward of the effort you put into finding it.

And that’s just a bottle of wine. Something that is simple, expendable, and replaceable.
Look at your life.
Think about your time.
Once the time has passed, you cannot have it back. The time is going to pass. You do not have control over it; all you have control over is yourself, your actions, and your choices.

So I say this:
Enjoy it.
Savor it.
Live it.

When your time runs out, you’ll be glad you did.

Mister Toastmaster.