Time up

Time up

 

From the day you are born, it is a race against time. The ruthless, relentless ticking of the clock reminds you that your time is running out and that one day your time will come to a sudden abrupt halt. The time of life is littered with wrecks of "would, could and should have been's " that never made it. Looking at those wrecks only adds to the desperation to do something.

 

The race is between the "wanna" and "gotta" be, that may never be, but they really believe they ought to be. The "has-been", has already given up. The "never will be", are doing nothing. In time, there are those who make it and give hope to all of us. That may just be the key; giving hope to all of us.

 

Those who win the race against time, use time. They do what they should when they could. They know that time is running out, but that is not their focus. They use time to do things that matter. Things that bring hope and last more than a lifetime. To win the race against time you must live in the future so that when your time comes, you will still be ahead of time. There is only one way to win the race (any race for that matter) and that is to finish ahead of time.

 

Time, despite its punishing, ruthless schedule has one redeeming grace and mercy. Time is always on time. It is never late, nor early. Time faithfully keeps right on schedule. Everything else may appear late and or disorganized, but time is always on time. It is routine, predictable and reliable. It is the same for everyone and will remain the same for you until your time is up. A minute follows minute, an hour another hour, a day another day, a week another week. Year in year out. Of all things time keeps its pledges and promises. Next year at this time, if you are still here, you will be one year older and there will still be time.

 

Many of us judge our achievements against time. However, we need to take our eyes off the clock for a while and look at what we are doing if the race is going to make sense. How does what we are doing affect the future? How does it affect the future of others? Does what we are doing bring hope? Does it bring hope to all of us? Will what you are doing out live you? Will it live longer than time? If your answers to these questions are positive then you are probably ahead of time. If you do not have satisfactory answers to those questions then time is far ahead of you and your time is almost up.

 

Step out of the race against time. Rather than suffer under the constraints of time, use time to accomplish your goals. Keeping your eyes on the clock will not make it turn back. Starring at the clock can cause much alarm and make you worry. Take time to determine what you should be doing and then do it in good time. Do today the things that bring hope tomorrow and you will always be ahead of time.

 

Allan Bukusi, 2006

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