Time is not money - time is life. Thanks, WIHH
 

A while back WIHH responded to somebody's post (don't remember who) about something (dont remember what) and said the following (this is DO remember)

Time is not money, time is life. What controls your time, controls your life.

That stuck in my mind for weeks now, and it has really changed the way I think about everything. This just seems to be so true - if you have babies, they do control your time, and your life, for a while. If you have a stressful job, it can control your time, and your life. The list can go on and on.

Several weeks ago, I made this my signature. I need to give WIHH credit, but I'm not sure if it was her quote, or somebody famous or something.

In January, dh asked me to work in his office for a while to get it organized (construction company) and I have. But from day one, I feel like it has controlled my life. I will be so glad to be done with that - only a couple more weeks to go.:dance:

Whenever something would come up (sick kid, the urge to can or dehydrate, etc) it was like, no - really don't have time today with work. A voice would whisper into my ear - this is controlling your time and your life.....just not worth it!

Anyway, just wanted to say Thank You, Wind in Her Hair. Something you said has really made a positive impact on my life.

Amen to that! I also remember that post and copied that quote! I posted it on my FB favorite quote section. The first day, I posted it as my status on FB and got all kinds of responses...not only from SAHMs but from people who hate their jobs as well!

The decisions we make about things in life can enslave us, forcing us to serve in ways we did not foresee.

Be very thankful you were able to learn that lesson from a post on here. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Several years ago, I was averaging 70 hours per week at my job, running a business on the side, writing a newspaper column, and serving as Chairman of my county's GOP. Naturally, this took a lot of time away from my family. My DW passed away 5 years after we married, and I realized just how little of that 5 years was dedicated to her. That was time I can never recover.

I've printed this out to tape to my computer. I need a reminder of this statement. Thanks for posting it.

I would hazard a guess that, if one counted up the things that WIHH has said or typed that have positively affected another's life, that you might have quite a bundle.

R

I remember WIHH posting that and love that quote! It very succinctly gives us all a life lesson. I now try to do a quick evaluation of what I commit to doing or what I think I "need" to do. When you ask yourself, "is doing this worth the part of my life that it takes up?" it makes a lot of decisions much simpler.

I find that it also helps me put some things in perspective. For instance, is it worth the time for my house to be completely spotless, or would I rather it be "clean enough" while I take the time to sit outside with a glass of lemonade beside my garden or spend time with a friend. When I die I'd rather people say, "She enjoyed her life and took the time to help others" than "Boy, was her house super clean!"

Agree.

Thank you for posting this today...and for the original post WIHH. I missed it the first time around, so I'm glad I saw it now.

Life is short...I want mine controlled by the right things!

____________________________________

~Julie~

Keeping the weight off...while balancing a large family, a frugal lifestyle, and a hobby farm.

http://www.mooberry-farm.blogspot.com

It's a good thing to keep in mind. Before I buy something, I always think about how many hours DH has to spend away from the place to pay for it and is it worth that many hours of his life. It's amazing how much you can do without when you think about it in hours that you will never have again.

Sarabeth,

just remember when you are at the office that you are helping your husband out. He needs your time too and it's only for a little while. I know what you mean though. I take care of my wheelchair bound son 5 days a week "officially" and am basically on call when every one else is gone. Some days it seems that is all I get done, but, unless God intervenes, I will only have a limited time with him so I try to remember that when I get frustrated. But even with my other kids and my grandkids, I don't take time with them for granted. No one of us is guaranteed even one more breath on this earth - enjoy all your loved ones while they are here (even the ones asking us to take time out of our day to do something we would rather not be doing).

I am not even sure when this started with me..or if I even had a conscious thought of doing so... but at some point in my life about 15 or more years back ( when I was early 30's)..I changed...I stopped taking the days for granted.. I began living each day as if I might not get another...I love my husband to the fullest.. I treasure each second with my adult children that I get... and oh my those precious grandchildren...I look at them as if I am allowed a small peek into heaven when I watch them.... when I am in my garden I feel as if I can hear whispers of people I knew and loved in my past...their memories ever dear to me...For some reason, I am keenly aware of how blessed I am...I feel not an urgent need to get many things done but instead I feel a peace that says it is ok if I don't get it all done as long as I take a moment to realize the beauty in each day... Like I said I do not remeber when this change in me occurred.. nothing dramatic happened to me...I just one day became so ultra aware of how precious time was...and began making each second matter...I wish everyone would live this way...

Dragonfly,
I hope I didn't sound like I was whining....too much anyway...Yes, I am so glad I have a set of office skills that I have been able to put to use. It has been a good thing. I guess my point was, that it has also made me really evaluate my time, and my priorities. What is and is not important to me.

When dh asked me to come in and get things in order, it was only meant to be for a short while - a few months maybe. And it has been. We are all 'good' with the situation now.

There is so much for which I am grateful. Mostly, that I am able to see what I am grateful for, you know? How many people walk around with blinders on all the time?

The last few months, well, really since after Christmas, have really given me a reality check. We all need times like this in our lives.

It's also made me realize that everything we say can potentially affect someone else - for the good or bad.

Sarabeth and WIHH, I'd like to add my experience too, because those words affected me as well. WIHH, if I am not mistaken, in that same post you mentioned that you didn't have a lifetime to spend with your husband, but as you put it "maybe 25 years". I'm a bit younger than you, so I can say I have maybe 30 years with my DH, but I don't want to waste any of it.

About a month ago (before WIHH's post) I had left a job that was just horrible. I tried, diligently, every day, to make it a good place to work not only for myself but for the other kind, decent people who worked there. I would go in with a smile, sometimes bringing treats I had baked, or occasionally buying pizzas for lunch for everyone. I was sort of the 'elder' there (I"m 46) and as one young lady put it 'had my head screwed on straight', so I would often be confided in. This is how I knew the other employees were as miserable as I was, but also tried to put on a good face every day in order to make a pleasant work environment *for ourselves*. But, sadly, it was NOT a good work environment. It was rotten to the core, from the district manager down to the store manager and the assistant manager. Lies, omissions, fabrications, shirking of duties, laziness and slovenliness. I found out that no matter how hard I worked physically and no matter how pleasant and sweet I tried to be, neither myself nor anyone else could overcome a corruption that deep. I worked there a little over 3 years, and I quit. I had had enough, and there was literally no more I could do that would have made any positive difference in the place.

It was just a week or two later that I read WIHH's post, about only having a limited amount of time with her husband, and about not letting things consume your time. I suppose it takes hearing something like that from another person to get you to accept what you yourself have known all along, and that is what her post did for me. Of course I knew I didn't want to waste time at a soul-sucking job where my literal best would never be enough, and I knew that I was happier when I had more time and energy to give to my husband.

We have a small business, and I am thankful to the Lord that business is picking up *just a little*. I am once again at home doing the billing, dispatching, and coordinating with brokers that I used to do before the economy started going sour and I had to go to work outside the home. I was so worried about how we would cope with the loss of my income, but so far at least, we are doing ok. I would like to use this time to work on starting a very small online business of my own, but am still in the planning and researching stage.

I would also like to thank WIHH for posting her thoughts, because they touched me as well. I knew in my heart I was right, but sometimes it takes hearing it from someone else for us to see that we were, indeed, right.

WIHH IS somebody famous or something... ;)

I want to say thank you to her also...She is truly a gift to this forum :)

That line stuck with me too.

Thanks WIHH

thank you for posting this today. i told my husband that i was mentally paralyzed this morning and was overwhelmed to the point of immobilizaiton in getting my work done. the more we simplify our lives the more i end up doing. this quote is going to hang on my fridge so that i can be reminded of it, and i need to remember that when fear and anxiety takes over my time, it is also taking over my life and that is not acceptable.

I strongly agree and do my very best to keep life simple and do the things that positively influence my family.

WIHH - I consider you a positive influence and an example to live by. : )

Interestingly enough, "Time is life itself" is one of the very basic teachings of Islam.

Great quote!! Thanks for sharing it with those of us who missed it the first time around :)

It reminds me of a book I read quite awhile ago "Your money or your life"

It is so easy to take things for granted, to live life without seeing the beauty around you. To even get so bogged down in everyday living that you don't appreciate your family the way you should. You take them for granted.

Every day we need to stop and think about all the blessings we have around us. Working so hard to find those pennies should not mean that we cannot enjoy each precious moment with our children and our loved ones.

Two things come to mind while reading this thread, one is a song that ever hardworking father should listen to, Jamey Johnson - The Dollar


The other is from my KJV bible.

“Be still and know that I am God!” is the first part of Psalm 46:10. Here, the word still comes from a Hebrew word meaning to “let go” or “release.” The meaning would be best understood to say “cause yourself to become restrained or to let go.” In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledging that He is in sovereign control.

When we realize that we are truly incapable of controlling life, we can surrender our will to God’s will. It may be a matter of finally saying we trust Him. This will open the door so that we may experience the fullness of all God wants and has for us. After all, He is our Creator and has a perfect plan for us when we let Him orchestrate it.

I like that saying, too -- it's a good one to remember when we need to get our priorities straight.

There's another one that's been on my mind a lot lately as I follow the news (not from TV, where there is essentially no news of any value!) and what's happened/happening with the economy and so on....Life is about people, not money. If more people remembered that, we would have fewer problems with greed and wrong priorities, also.

Kathleen

this sort of thinking is what is on my mind alot lately--we are going thru a very lean time, no cash to spare, in fact, no cash at all. a couple days ago i was really stressing over money, really sweating and i swear i could feel my heart racing over it. plus, i felt as if i also had sooo much to get done, i wasn't ever going to succeed at any of it. and not a dime to spare which seems to make things worse, and somehow sends me into a small panic.

then i went outside to work, and ahhh, its ok, we'll be fine. i read my bible, i prayed, i breathed.

our family is soooo unbelievably blessed, no amt of money could buy that for us.

i didn't put my thoughts into words, but WIHH has done that--and oh yes, she is so very right! her posts always make sense to me.

Many years ago...have the book still..Your Money or Your LIfe..excellent book about money, working and the work that takes up your life while you are making money and more money that doesn't make a difference in the end. About credit etc...Excellent book..Recommended reading...