Time

More and more I've realized how important of a thing "time" is.  It's the most important thing that we have, and the most important thing that we can give.  Time is one of the most important things that you can give to someone.  Just taking the time to ask someone how their day is going can brighten up their day.

A few years ago I was going through some very difficult times.  Mentally I was a mess, and life was just feeling very hopeless.  One of the things that got me through this period was the time my family and friends gave to me.

I remember going to Jiu Jitsu class... making myself go to class, and not really wanting to be there... not really wanting to be anywhere in general.  I remember walking by my good friend and instructor Steve, and he asked me, "How's it going?"  I did the normal reply, "it's going good" and continued to walk by Steve.  I walked about 3 feet and then felt someones hand on my shoulder... I turned around and it was Steve.  He told me, "Don't give me that shit!! How are you doing, I want to know."  I remember looking at him and saying, "I'm a fucking wreck right now... but I'm here."

After a very hard Jiu Jitsu practice Steve took me out to dinner and we talked a lot.  We talked about the ups and downs of life, what was bugging me, how to deal with difficult times, and how we need to appreciate the good times while we are in them...

Steve has always been one of my best friends.  We have a very long history together.  He's one of those people that wants a straight honest answer.  When he asks you "how are you doing" he wants to actually know what's going on in your life.  The time and friendship he has given me is more valuable than any material thing I can ever receive.

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about a homeless person that I encountered and gave a gift card to so that he can get something to eat.  I wish more than anything that I wasn't in such a hurry that day so that I could have sat down and talked to him for a little bit.  As easy as it was for my to give him some money, I wish I could have given him some of my time.

I use to spend so much time "chasing money" and thinking it would make me happy.  I was spending all my time working, and not enough time with my kids.  I felt like the material things I was able to buy for my kids would make them happy and that being away from them because I was working was a balanced trade-off.  I remember one year asking my son what he wanted for his birthday.  He looked at me and ask, "Can you take the day off from work and come to my birthday party?"

I felt like the worst parent ever.  Here I thought I was making him happy by making enough money to buy him toys and most of the stuff that he wanted... but all he really wanted was for me to spend more time with him.  It's not like I was an absent parent, but because I was working so much I was usually tired, a little cranky, and sometimes short tempered.  I realized that I needed to make a change, and that my kids didn't care about the stuff I bought them as much as they really just wanted me to spend more quality time with them.

I'm trying to give more and more of my time to people.  One thing that I really love about the relationship that I have with Alisha is the fact that we have made it a habit to make sure that we give each other our time.  No matter how busy our day has been, at the end of the day we always talk on the phone for about 30 mins (usually longer) and talk about how our day went.

We have a very limited amount of time here on this earth, and it's important that we use that limited time to try to help as many people as we can, and touch as many lives as we can.



That's all I got for today.  I promise that the next blog will be about running.  I still need to write about the San Joaquin River 100k (did that one back in November) and the Rodeo Beach 50k (did that one back in December).


Until next time...

KEEP RUNNING!!!!