I Think It's Time

You were on a path in the jungle. The path is straight and smooth. You know that a volcano is about to erupt and wipe out the island and you have twenty minutes before the last helicopter lifts off from a clearing a mile away. The problem is that you weigh over 350 pounds and you haven't moved under your own power at more than a walk in years. You push yourself down the path puffing and gasping for air. You don't make it half way before you see the helicopter rise into the air. As you stand there gasping you can feel the earth rumble under your feet and, at that moment, your eyes shoot open. You stand up and look at the 225 pounds you've amassed on your five foot nine frame and you say out loud, "I think it's time I got back in shape."

You were lying in a hospital bed; your last breath leaving your cancer riddled body. After months of agony it will finally be over. You can hear people in the room but your eyes no longer focus. You think you hear words saying how you will now be at peace, but you also catch a tone that tells you that they are really tired of this bedside vigil. As you feel the last breath seeping out of your body, your eyes shoot open. You stare at the ceiling and think, "I think it's time I work on quitting smoking."

You're late for work so you're pushing your car down the rain slicked streets. You know it's not a good idea but you were late twice this month and you know these roads like the back of your hand. You hit a slick path and hydroplane over the guard rail and your car tumbles down the hill. Everything goes black. The next thing you know you are coming into work a few minutes late but no one complains about the guy in the wheelchair being a few minutes late. Your eyes shoot open and you think, "I think it's time I'm a little more careful behind the wheel."

You had a tough day at work so you stop at a nearby bar to get a little buzz before heading home. The next thing you know you are trying to make a turn on a city street at high speed and you slide into a telephone pole. Buzzed by the alcohol and dazed by the impact you just lay your face on the deployed air bag for a minute. Soon you feel someone jerk open the door and drag you out. It is a policeman and you wonder why he is being so rough. You expect to be charged with DUI but this guy is treating you like a major criminal. It isn't until you feel the cold steel hand cuffs snap on you wrists that you remember why you sped around that corner. Suddenly you see the face of the young girl in the street just before you ran her down. Your eyes shoot open and you think, "I think it's time that I find a way to curb my drinking."

If only we would have a terrible vivid dream that would shake us out of our excesses. Unfortunately that rarely happens and we end up suffering for them or have other people suffer for them. Recognizing what is haunting us and doing something about it can be the hardest thing in the world. Many conditions can not be overcome alone. Create your own vivid dream of what can happen if your problem gets too far out of control. Maybe it can tell you that it is time.