Tonight is March 11, 2017 – the night we lose an hour this year. I know that at some point, there must have been some logical and practical reason to implement this strange, arbitrary and artificial manipulation of time; however, I fail to see how those reasons from so long ago hold any real merit today. Regardless of my feelings or the feelings of many others who feel similarly, we will lose an hour tonight. Now I know that we will “regain” that hour sometime in the fall but that is not the point. Both times most of us will be asleep when the “magic” occurs so we will miss the shift in time.
We could cuss, discuss and debate the merits of such manipulation of time; however, I would like to address the losing of an hour in another way.
So often, we all lose an hour here on an hour there participating in activities that allow time to slip through our fingers. We often lose an hour when we:
- Worry about a future that is not here yet
- Ruminate over events that are history wishing we could have a “do over”
- Spend time “thinking” about doing something and never really take any steps to make something happen
- Choose to ignore opportunities to take a stand for someone or something of value
- Focus on separation rather than reconciliation
- Take actions that block or delay good from another’s life
- Ignore chances to express love, forgiveness and care for one in need of such gifts
- Pretend that we do not need the assistance of another on a project when we really do
I could go on, but I won’t.
This is a two-pronged reality. First, we are unable to do anything about the losing of an hour of sleep or the regaining of that hour in the fall. Second, we can do many things about avoiding the loss of hours in our lives by refusing to participate in activities that cause us to unnecessarily miss chances to truly make a difference.
There you have it! The hour we lose tonight will only cause us to lose an hour of sleep. The hour we lose when we choose to let it slip through our fingers might cause us to lose more important things!
Think about it!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
