The Next 37 Hours

“All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.”

Baltasar Gracian

“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”

Maria Edgeworth

“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is 5:00 on Saturday afternoon.  In a little over 37 hours, I start work again.  I have had two weeks off and I have been able to reach most of my objectives for this break.  One thing I haven’t been able to do is publish an e-book.  More correctly, I have chosen to do other things.  Maybe they were better things  (spending time with friends and loved ones) or maybe they weren’t (online games).  But, for better or worse, I made my choices.  And, to be fair, I have put some time into my book, so I’m not starting from the beginning. 

So here’s what I want to do in the next 37 hours:

·      Write two more blogs (including this one);

·      Do two more radio shows;

·      Study for two hours;

·      Finish and publish one e-book;

·      Advertise my e-book on Facebook and anywhere else I can think of;

·      Have fun doing all of this.

That’s the plan.  Is it achievable?  That depends entirely on how I use my time.  On top of all that, I’d like to meet with some friends tonight and hang out.  Time is precious and I feel motivated and excited.  My music is cued and I’m ready to Get Started and to Keep Going.  I might go out or I might not.  Right now my work seems like the most important thing.  But friends are important, too.  So we’ll see how the next hour goes.

Is this blog even worth anyone’s time?   Is my agenda going to be helpful to anyone?  I don’t know.  All I know is that I’m writing; I’m in my Purpose.  I’m doing the very thing I’m supposed to be doing.  Sometimes this is just for me.  Sometimes I write just so I can remind myself that I want a cottage on the beach. 

Soon. 

So even if I don’t publish it, even if it’s no good at all, at least I’m doing my work.  This moment is one of the happiest, most important moments of my life, not because of how it will be judged in the future, not because of its utility, but because I am in my purpose.

In my most recent blog, (http://robertf71.blogspot.com/2013/10/benefits-and-purpose.html) I said that I’m not doing this for the benefits.  I’m getting a benefit anyway.  I get to do the most important thing in the world.  I get to be in my Purpose.  What could be a greater benefit than that? 

I’ve shared this before, but I have a prayer that I pray before I write each blog:

God, may this work bless You.  May it bless the world.  May it bless my family and friends.  And may it bless me.  Guide my heart, my head and my hands.  Amen.

Though I ask for separate blessings for God, the world, my family and friends and myself, I don’t think they are separate.  When I bless one, everyone gets blessed.  Everyone that reads this gets blessed, hopefully.  But I hope my work blesses those who haven’t read it (yet).  Maybe the world gets blessed just because I do my work.  I don’t know and fortunately I’m not responsible.  I’m only responsible for doing what I’m supposed to be doing. 

There’s a passage from The War of Art that I’ve shared before, but it bears repeating:

When Krishna instructed Arjuna that we have a right to our labor but not to the fruits of our labor, he was counseling the warrior to act territorially, not hierarchically.   We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause. 

Then there’s the third way proffered by the Lord of Discipline, which is beyond both hierarchy and territory.  That is to do the work and to give it to Him.  Do it as an offering to God. 

            Give the act to me

            Purged of hope and ego,

            Fix your attention on the soul

            Act and do for me.

The work comes from heaven anyway.  Why not give it up?

That’s my philosophy.  That’s why this is so humbling.  Why would God, who knows everything about me, still trust me with something this important?  Maybe it’s not a matter of trust.  Maybe it’s a matter of love.  Maybe He gives me this responsibility, this gift, because He loves me and He knows it will make me happy.  Maybe the same is true of you, too.

That’s why the next 37 hours are important.  That’s why every hour of our lives is important and potentially life changing.  That’s why I have to Get Started and Keep Going.