In a society moving faster and faster, and with loved ones growing ever more hypocritical, it turns out to be necessary to focus one’s attention on the signs that are truly worth it.
Many people surround us, but they are only playing at it. They wear masks that make you believe they will always be there for us. They give their word, weeks in advance, on all sorts of things. They let us understand that they will be there, that they will do this, that they will take care of that, and so on.
And yet, when the hour of delivery comes, they will never so much as show the tip of their nose. In a situation where this happens once or twice, we can always talk it out and understand one another. Alas, when that repeated absence becomes the norm, it is entirely human to go looking for the causes. Those causes, happily enough, are not many: you are not worthy of the best gift. And that gift is none other than "time".
When it comes to gifts, there are several kinds. Once that distinction is understood, it becomes easier to pin down the place we occupy in other people’s lives, and vice versa. As for the two broad categories, we have material gifts and immaterial ones.
Material gifts are everything money can buy and that is therefore replaceable. Here we think of kitchenware, perfumes, household equipment, decor, gift boxes, board games, and so on. The list is a very long one.
Immaterial gifts, by contrast, are the ones money cannot acquire. The list here is a very exhaustive one. Indeed, we can make out a good many things that money does not have the attribute of being able to buy. Without wishing to enter the debate over whether money brings happiness or not, let us mention that Chinese proverb which holds that "Money can buy a house, but not a home. It can buy a bed, but not sleep. It can buy a clock, but not time. It can buy a book, but not knowledge."
Nevertheless, in that answer, well considered and realistic though it is, what is generally at issue are things we give to ourselves: knowledge, sleep, a home, and so on. In terms of gifts, the immaterial good we can offer to someone else is "time".
We have but one life, and every minute of that life, what we make of it, that is what carries a price. To decide to offer a loved one a value as irreplaceable as time is to choose to give yourself to that person. And it is in this that time is the best gift.
How many people really deserve your time?
And conversely, how many people’s time do you deserve?
Understanding the management of time and answering these two questions are the very foundation of personal development.
M. Z.
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