Blog 2.0

The trouble is, you think you have time. The quote was attributed to the Buddha. Whether or not he really said it is immaterial, for the depth of the statement is quite profound.

As I sit here in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, discussing life with a colleague, I can't get that quote out of my head. We are discussing what matters most in life and to us and that is our children. Are we making the best decision to work away from home to provide a better life for our children? Or would the better life be at home with them every day? These are the questions that pull at me each and every day. These are the ones that rip at my heart because no matter which option I chose, I still lose something. I have to do what I think is right. But right for me, or right for them? Is there a difference? How I can know because each way has definite benefits that the other doesn't.

My friend talks about how he taught his son to race bicycles and how exciting that was for his little boy. However, on the day that his son won his first big competition, he couldn't be there. He was on an oil rig in the middle of the sea somewhere. He told me that, sure he could buy whatever his son needed, but what if all he needed was his father's time?

We often hear of people trying to buy more time. People spend all their money to prolong their lives but I've never heard the story of the person who tried to trade their time for more money. Time is the most precious commodity. Time is like sweet nectar that we must drink to live. We watch the remaining level drop with each swallow. Knowing well the paradox of what sustains us will ultimately be our demise.

This subject is so hard for me because although I can't be at home every day, when I am home I am really home. I'm at home for a solid month and don't have any obligations other than my family. So with this constant pain, the pain that I feel when I leave, the pain I feel as my children cry at the airport, I tell myself this is the best way. Yet I know it isn't the best but it's the best I have now. Each sweet moment at home has a little bitterness because I know this freedom is granted only by my coming absence.

Our time is the most precious thing we have. It is the best gift that we can ever give. Please remember how precious your time is and give it appropriately. I wish you all the time in the world.