Once we’ve entered upon the highway we call “2nd half of the journey”; time becomes either our enemy or a comrade!  I think we are more cognizant of time as something very difficult to redeem or replace.  We tend to look at a 24-hour day as a precious gift from which we must wring every good and potential opportunity.  After all, it’s one less day on the journey in which we can “make hay while the sun shines!”

My ‘yesterday’ was full of so much to accomplish.  Follow up and follow through and answer this and that.  So at a reasonable hour I decided I would quit early - like 9:00ish (in the p.m. that is).  Just as I was letting my brain cool down, the phone rang.  It was a delightful woman from one of our Affiliated Women’s Neighborhood Network.  She called for no other reason than to tell me that she’d had an appointment set from our most recent meeting and - it went very well!  We talked about the appointment and the network in general and her positive comments fueled my conviction that “yes”, we are on the right track with AWI.

She didn’t have to do that. Take time out of her evening to call and tell me that. But what a blessing she did.  She was excited and I was energized and renewed. I hung up believing firmly that all we have to do is keep ‘pluggin’ and it will happen!

Usually, the opposite is true.  I only hear when it’s something that didn’t go right and I may be the handy ‘whipping girl’.  But isn’t that true for all of us at times in our lives?  Don’t we do it ourselves?

Experts tell us that if we’re satisfied with someone or something, we’ll tell about 10 to 15 people.  But look out when we’re not.  We have a tendency to tell the whole world.  We all do it from time to time and feel badly (or at least I do) for having done so.

While ‘vegging’ before sleep, I rolled what had occurred over in my cooled brain and wondered if it takes more time to pass along our negative reaction to something or someone than it takes to pass along the “good”.  I don’t know if that’s been researched or not or if anyone cares.  But I came to the conclusion that it takes less time to “vent” the “good stuff” than it takes to do just the opposite.  It’s all a matter of energy!

It takes energy to relate ’stuff’ to others.  Now I’m not a scientist, but I’ve learned a few things traveling the journey and I think there’s a direct correlation between stuff & energy - personal energy.  If I’m really ‘ticked’ over something - then there’s more energy to deal with - thus more folks I need to vent to in order to dissipate the energy. 

Does that make sense?  And if it does - does it matter?  Is it something that is an earth-shattering revelation?  Probably not.

However, just knowing something can help us make sense of our own feelings, behaviors and actions. 

Well none of the above is really the focus of this chat.  What is the focus is that a very special person found TIME to tell another something that made the other’s day!  Time to say - “it’s good - it works & it just takes TIME”.

We have the same number of seconds, minutes, and hours in the day.  What we do with them sets us apart!  None of us is perfect and we don’t always use the time commodity in the best way possible. 

However, there are those rare moments when someone chooses to use her time well and picks up the phone. . . . How I wish I always did something that simple to bring joy to another’s life.

My encouragement for the day is that in the midst of the seconds, minutes & hours that make up May 22, 2008; we’ll find a moment to make a positive difference in one of our ’sister’s’ lives!

Have an awesome day with much love, great blessings & a little time for self and others!

Linda, a fellow journeyor