Well, I’m certainly hoping that everyone has cranked those clocks one hour ahead by now… if not, then I guess you were late to church yesterday!
This weekend is probably one of my favorites of the year. For one thing, since I live in Florida and we are well on our way to spring by now (sorry to all of my friends who live in northern climes!), springing forward usually involves our extra hour of daylight turning into a brisk walk or a little play outside in the sunshine. I just feel more energized and alive on this first day of daylight savings time…like the darkness has lifted and the year can finally begin.
But I got to thinking…what else could I be doing with that extra hour of daylight? And for that matter, why is it only that one hour I’m thinking about…what about all of my hours? Am I using this precious time I have on this earth wisely?
One author puts it this way: “Common advice given to people who want to improve their use of time is to focus on what contributes most. The inverse, however, is also a worthy pursuit. What does not contribute but only wastes time?”
Did you know that the average person spends at least 93 hours per year checking his or her Facebook page? Another 17 hours per year is spent deleting junk mail. And hold on for this one, we can spend up to 350 hours per year waiting at stoplights! YIKES!
One of my favorite songs is “Seasons of Love” from the musical RENT! In the opening tune the cast sings, “Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure – measure a year?” Knowing all the ways we can waste time…perhaps with this extra hour of daylight, we might take a look at how we can make our time count more. What will you do with your extra hours? How will you measure your year?
Jennifer Michael, of Pensacola, Fla., is churchwide president for the 2011-2014 triennium.
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