Someday I will have "Five Minutes"....

Someday I want to tackle the notion that "I don't even have five minutes to spare" because my life is so busy. I have been thinking about this lately not only because I hear it so often from others, but also because I attribute it so often to my own life. These last three weeks, I have been a full time caregiver for my husband following a hip replacement, and in that time, I “have not had five minutes" a day to do what I know is good for me.

 I have, however, had more than five minutes to think about all the things I should be doing. In fact, I have had hours of time to do that. So how did I fill those hours? I played solitaire and Tetris until my fingers were sore and my dreams were filled with images of floating objects being twisted into perfect place. I followed all my favorite cooking shows while purchasing pre-made dinners for my husband and myself. I watched movies of other people having adventures and epiphanies about life. But, and here's the irony, if you were to ask me how those three weeks went, I would probably tell you that I didn't have five minutes to prepare a healthy meal, take a walk, write a friend or any one of a hundred other activities that would have been a step towards health and wholeness.

 So, instead of fighting the notion, I have decided to embrace the 4:59 Minute Life. Here's how I am thinking it will go...

Every day, I only have 4:59 minutes to do what would make my life, my friendships, my work and my world a better place. In the morning, I have 4:59 minutes to study. Next, I have 4:59 minutes (and only 4:59 minutes) to pray for others. Following that, I will go to the gym for 4:59 minutes to exercise (because I have already mastered the art of the 4:59 minute breakfast due to the fact that I am "so busy"). At work, I will "waste" 4:59 minutes in meaningful conversations instead of writing e-mails because they are "more efficient". In lines at the grocery store, I will "waste" 4:59 minutes and engage with the people around me, maybe even making it a plan to always give up my place in line to the person behind me. You get the point.

Here's the deal. In reality, each of us could only have minutes. And the question I have been asking myself relates to a quote I saw recently. "What if the tragedy of life ...is that we mastered something that didn't matter?" Having the highest score in Tetris, knowing who won Top Chef last year -those are achievements that don't matter. They simply suck minutes out of my life and keep me from the work I was put on this earth to do.

So maybe you are a person who never wastes time; I actually do believe you are out there because I have met you. You know your purpose and you are wholly engaged in it. You suck the marrow out of life and impact everyone around you. You are focused and passionate, and I want to be like you.

I know I will not be you tomorrow, but maybe someday, 4:59 minutes at a time, I will get there.