I’m finally done traveling, and like all people who have done something once, I’m now an expert qualified to tell others people how to do it. All joking aside, there was one thing that I definitely took from the experience that applies everywhere. We can’t underestimate the importance of our time.
One of the great things about travel is that it takes us out of our normal circumstances and allows us to see things that we’ve normally taken for granted. When we are on vacation, we know that our time is limited, and so we are intentional about making use of it. Fair enough. The truth of the matter, though, is that our time is always limited. When I was in London, I only had two days, but there were hundreds of things that I would have liked to see. That being the case, there was discussion and planning with the people I was traveling with to maximize our time with what we most wanted to see.
Similarly, as a teacher, I only have so much time with my students and far more material that I’d like to teach than I’ll be able to. The fact that I have more time in the classroom than I had in London can make me complacent. I can start thinking that I can get to something later. From experience, I can tell you that I won’t get to it later. At least, not always. Especially because I don’t just run out of time once, but routinely. I can’t get more time, after all. If I need to spend longer on one topic, that means I’ll have less to spend on another.
Ultimately, I have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else has. What I do with that time says way more about what matters to me than any of my claims. If I can’t find time to pray, it’s because I’ve made other things more important. If I don’t get around to reading that book, it’s because I didn’t actually think it mattered that much. No more excuses. It’s time to take my time seriously.
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