How Do We Want to Spend the Time We Have Left?
How to be mindful of the precious gift of time
I have lived more years than I have left to live. When that sinks in you can do one of two things: panic or get very intentional about how you are going to spend the time you have left.
I was sitting on the couch vegging out with my phone the other day and I heard my therapist’s voice. This may seem strange, but each time she and I meet, and I launch off into some topic without much thought, she very calmly says, “I just want to check in with you, Beth. Is this what you want us to spend time on today?”
This question always brings me up short. Sometimes the answer is yes, but many times it is no. She wants me to be intentional with the way I spend my 50 minutes with her, and I appreciate her waking me up when I am wandering off into the weeds.
That’s why it seemed perfectly natural for me to hear her voice asking me, “Is this how you want to be spending your time right now?” As I was sitting there, slumping into an ever more amorphous lump with my phone clutched in my hand I realized the answer was a resounding “No!” I woke up and realized I was being led off into the dark woods when I really wanted to be outside in the sunshine — literally.
