TIME

Tiempo, Temps, Zeit, Jikan, Vremya, Tempo... TIME!
Time:  The length of all existence, past, present, and future.

There's either too much or not enough of it.  Is there ever just the right amount of time?  Is it ever the right time?  Now, this musing may make more sense to those of you who are also in graduate school - as it is 1 a.m. and I'm currently writing a blog instead of the paper that's staring me in the face with a 5 p.m. deadline! 
People say many things about time.  They say:
"Time flies when you're having fun."
"Time will tell."
"Time heals all wounds."
"I have no time"
I'm asking REALLY?

However, in this post I'd like to attempt more than just playing with the word and pointing out interesting idioms.

Do we really know what we mean by "time?"  All around the world people have the same amount of hours in a day and the same amount of days in a week, etc.  Why then is it that the concept of time seems so different to me this year as opposed to last?  Why is it that I felt so much more confidence and pride in how I utilized my time when traveling and teaching abroad?  Why does is seem so glaringly obvious that people in some places and certain situations value their time more than others? 

One of the 'bonus' words among my classmates and I is "balance." You see we try to convince ourselves that going to a happy hour or relaxing to watch a TV show is all in the name of living a balanced life.  I mean, one can't physically study all the time, right?!  What I came to realize as I was sitting here contemplating my paper tonight is that maybe I've been looking in the wrong place for balance.  Maybe balance isn't about time at all.  Maybe balance is about heart.  Just maybe balance isn't found in hours in a day at all! 
If I spend all my time thinking, talking about, and doing my little academic world, I'm missing the balance. If my brain stops fathoming life outside of this bubble, if I stopped caring about people other than those I encounter on a daily basis, if I forget how to participate in communities outside of my own... that's when I would become unbalanced.  It's NOT when I don't have time to go to the gym, do my laundry, or to sleep!  Then again, IT IS ALL ABOUT CHOICES (which has also become a motto of first year students in my program)... we choose where and with whom we spend our time... literally and figuratively. 

Time is one of those things that is intangible - something we can't really grasp.  That is made more and more clear as it seems to slip through our fingers!  Yet it has taken on such an important role in our lives.  Why is that?  There are many things that are unfairly distributed in the world: wealth, food, land, education, health care, and the list goes on infinitely.  BUT, what we all have is TIME... the same share for everyone.  You have 24 hours in your day as do I, a child in India, and a mother in China.  It's not how much of it we have  that we should worry about, it's simply what we do with it that matters.

My sister and I found ourselves coincidentally repeating the same quote to each other just before she left for Burkina Faso:
"Go out into the world and do well... but more importantly go out into the world and do good!"

I urge you (and myself) to use your time... on your journey to find balance... to do good!
KK