How Do I Love Life? Let Me Count the Ways

Some say that nothing changes and that everything's the same one day to the next. I beg to differ. Some reminisce or grieve about what was, and to them I say, "Let it go. Time is forever new. Time never rests."

"Time waits for no one," the Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger sang in the eponymous song from their 1974 album It's Only Rock 'N Roll. That was, always has been and always will be true. Time changes by the second. No two seconds of time are alike, although they may seem to be superficially.

Currently, I'm sitting in front of a computer typing an article as I've done many times before. However, while typing I can't see the many beginnings and endings of life that have transpired. That's all life--plant, animal, microscopic and human. I can't see who or whether anyone has passed by my home. I lack firsthand knowledge of the current weather in, say, Bethesda, Maryland. I can't see or hear others' thoughts.

While reading this article you're likely doing what you've done many times before. However, as it is with my typing this article, this is the first time you're doing it NOW. Who's to say that unforeseen events won't interrupt what we're doing now? It could be as minor as phones ringing or as major as nearby explosions.

Time moves forward constantly regardless of whether we realize it and want it to. Every passing second makes you one second wiser. After reading this sentence you will be wiser by the number of seconds it took you to read it. Life changes by the second. So, if you can love life by the second you can love it for a lifetime.

Time periods are just collages of seconds homogenized in our minds. Time moved constantly during the "Roaring Twenties," the "Dirty 'Thirties," the "Nifty Fifties," the "Swinging Sixties" and all other chronological time periods. Time is, always has been, and always will be in constant flux. Every second of life is unique.

Similarities between seconds spring from the conscious mind. Collecting, filtering, comparing and grouping data are conscious mind functions. The conscious mind looks for similarities, patterns, trends and logical sequences. Any aberration in a sequence of events jars and confuses the conscious mind.

If someone strolled nude near a busy intersection most observers would be outraged and expect that person to be arrested. It does not follow that the police would arrive, chat with the streaker, wish the streaker a good day and then drive away. The conscious mind also has time expectations, including for night and day. If dawn suddenly arrived at a different hour than usual I would say everyone aware of this would be awed and baffled.

The conscious mind works in chronological time, as the world demands. God may work in all-time, allegorical time or "God time," but we humans must honor chronological time. After all, hourly wages and so much else are based on chronological time, not all-time. Chronological time rules the world and the conscious mind.

Chronological time's minions include employers, creditors, landlords and merchants. People expect punctuality for work, classes, meetings and appointments. People expect their dates to be on time. People expect you to remember birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and other important dates. People expect timely payment of debts owed to them. People expect prompt payment for items and services they provide and prompt delivery of items and services they order. You cannot legally exit a store with unpaid-for items or leave a restaurant owing a tab intending to pay later. You can argue that chronological time is an illusion. However, the jail time either transgression would earn you would not be an illusion.

Arguing that chronological time is a fallacy won't win trials, excuse lateness, persuade teachers to change failing grades or forestall eviction, foreclosure or negative credit reporting. No one would say or believe, "Yes, your watch and mine show I'm an hour late, but, hey, since time is an illusion created by man I'm actually on time." God's working in timelessness does not free us of worldly obligations and commitments.

Minding chronological time helps keeping us employed, out of jail, out of poverty, in good credit standing, in good academic standing, in relationships and in our homes. In short, it helps keeping the peace. As Jesus says in Mark 12:17: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."

Now, many people may find all-time hard to fathom. However, they can learn to appreciate and be mindful of all-time. They can see time as an infinite now and still fulfill their worldly commitments. They can be mindful of all-time while maintaining peace in the physical world. Being mindful of all-time is a must for seeing God's grace in the right perspective. God does not acknowledge clocks, watches and calendars--or follow trends.

In Luke 11:9-10 Jesus says: "So, I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Jesus does not say that prayers are answered immediately. God works on His time, God Standard Time (GST), not ours. If you are truly spiritual and pray correctly--not pleading, but praying with the solid faith that your prayer will be answered--God at least gives you the inner peace to sustain you as you wait. Your inner peace is God assuring you He's heard your prayer and that your path is right. So, inner peace is its own reward.

Nothing is new to God and nothing eludes Him. Hebrews 4:13 reads, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." He foresaw everything before Creation. That includes our problems and their solutions and our desires.

God is omniscient and omnipresent. So, why He wants us to pray may elude the conscious mind. Remember, the conscious mind cannot know and see all, for it is not God. Our ignorance of why God wants us to pray aside, we can take solace in knowing He is with us every second of our lives to guide us. So, you can look ahead as He lights the way and cherish every second that you live as one new and different than the last.

When you embrace life by the second you gain inner peace and all its effects. No matter what you're doing and where you are you see your life as one of adventure, not drudgery. You gain insights into problems. You forgive yourself for past mistakes. You feel rejuvenated. You replace a whining attitude with a winning one, self-consciousness with self-confidence and depression and anxiety with joy. You shed anger, resentment, cynicism, jealousy and hatred and become a loving, caring person. You not only accept but welcome change. Now, reaching this point may initially require some retrospection. Here's where some retrospection is helpful.

Some introspection and retrospection may be needed for spiritual growth. Before moving forward in life you may have to step back some as you would before the running start of a long jump. However, you can recall and learn from your mistakes without punishing yourself, and you can recall the past without dwelling on it. What's harmful is excessive, and negative, retrospection. Moving forward requires you to emotionally detach yourself from your past selves and their mistakes. Maybe you lacked the knowledge in the past that you have now or you had the knowledge but lacked the emotional strength, courage or discipline to act on it.

Ezekiel 18:20-22 reads, "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will be charged against him.

"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses, he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live."

The people you were are the forebears of the person you are. You are not your forebears. Your forebears' mistakes are not yours and vice versa. However, you should learn from your forebears' mistakes and not repeat them. Still, you are enrolled in the School of Life, and school is in session every second.

Change is constant. Every second brings a new experience, a now experience. Life continues second by second forever, that includes after we depart physically into another realm of existence. Every second of your life counts. If you doubt that then consider the next paragraph.

It can take nine months to be born but only seconds to die. In a flash something can separate you from your body. You may not even know what struck you. That's another reason why you should consider every second you have on Earth the blessing that it truly is and give it the weight that a blessing deserves.