Time to Spend

How do you want to spend your time? Do you want to spend it wishing you had better health? Maybe you want to have more leisure time. Maybe it is quality time with your family you are looking for. Most of us wish we had a healthier body so we had more energy to do things like run and play with the kids, or enjoy a touch football game with the family. Sometimes though, we get so wrapped up in leisure time, focusing on “our time to relax,” we ignore what really makes spending time worthwhile. We may take a detour after work to have a beer and a smoke with some friends. We may enjoy a glass of wine and a cigarette while catching up with a neighbor.

Oftentimes when we focus on ourselves and what we need, we not only feel we deserve the “treat” of a cigarette, we justify the indulgence by rationalizing. Although smoking with friends can seem like an enjoyable way to spend and evening, the fact is smoking steals your time. Like a thief robbing you blind of your most prized possession, smoking takes your leisure time, your quality time, your very life, and throws it to the dogs to devour.

We all have the same hours in the day, and it is ultimately up to you as how you will spend them. Keep in mind though that you are not really spending time, you are borrowing it, and someday you will look back on your life and realize that time is all you really had. Look for ways to develop meaningful connections with others, such as volunteering at the local food bank or community center, or attending a church activity group. The lives you touch will certainly touch yours as well, and you’ll gain much more than you ever thought possible.