The Importance of What We Do With Our Time

Great (small) post!

Small things can be great things. Small things can make great changes. A mile is made up of small inches. The ocean is filled with small drops. Keep doing the small things and you'll make the world better.

Proteus wrote: Hi guys.

I would like us to have a ponder and a discussion on the topic of what we do with our time both here at the temple and outside of it. But first I would like you to watch this very short clip of Brandon Lee sharing a quote (even if you've already seen it, I still recommend once more):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyJRI8_Qauc

That was his last interview, and it was ironic that he shared this quote not long before his sudden passing.

Sometimes I see people taking their interactions with others for granted and I think about this. I think back on people very dear to me who I once had the privilege of being in their lives and then losing that privilege (and some of them I may never get that back ever again).

Whenever we are spending time here at the temple, or outside of it, what are we doing with that time that is actually quality? What are we spending that time talking about, thinking/worrying about, or contributing? Are we using it to get the most out of our interactions with others? If I may change up a pronoun for my point - Is there anybody that, if they were suddenly gone today, you would regret your last moments with them (or lack thereof) not being better than it was? What could you be doing different with them, or with the temple, to make sure it is as valuable as you can make it?

I know this isn't going to be a sensationally controversial topic, so I won't be surprised if it dies and withers away in a day. But maybe some discussion would be nice or if anything, it can help any of us revisit what we are doing here and why.

Your post reminded me of Castaneda. In particular, Castaneda says several times in his writing that one of the basic misjudgments of human beings is that we feel as if we are immortal beings, with all the time in the world. I cant speak on this being true for others but i can say it has definitely been true for me. It has taken me a very long time to really grasp the finiteness of my being.

As for regrets... i have many things that i regret, but i dont use my regrets to batter myself, emotionally. I accept the reality that i am a human being and that i am imperfect and that this means im bound to make mistakes. And let me tell you, ive made a LOT of mistakes, lol. Some pretty serious mistakes, which have caused suffering to myself and to others.

I see and hear people say that they dont regret anything theyve done because thats what made them who they are. I completely respect the sentiment and im not saying that my feeling on the topic is what you should feel. My feeling is that i was going to mature regardless of whether i lived wisely or foolishly. I lived foolishly for a very long time and i have had to suffer the consequences. My life would be so much better today if i had made better decisions in my teens and twenties. Hell, i was making horrible decisions even into my thirties, lol. I wish i had just fully committed myself to training when i was a young man no matter what it took, as i really knew even that this is what i should have been doing, and that i had kept myself away from drugs and alcohol and wild, emotionally damaged people. But i didnt. And a lot of suffering was experienced and caused because of it.

But it is what it is, and i am who i am. Im on a better path, now, and i definitely learned a lot from my mistakes lol.