by Marilyn C. Arayata
“THE last two minutes was brought to you by….” Just two minutes, but so many things can happen in a basketball game. The opponent might score a crucial three-point shot, or succeed in all-important free throw attempts. Depending on the teams’ scores, each could be enough to clinch a victory or to send a game to overtime – in just two minutes.
What else can happen in two minutes? It takes less than that to check if we have all the stuff we need and to check if the doors and windows are properly locked. Two minutes may cover a phone conversation just to ask if somebody is okay. It takes even less than that to send a text message or a Messenger sticker saying “Hi,” “Happy birthday,” “Good morning,” and “Take care!” It takes only a few seconds to look up from your gadget when a child needs your attention, thank a restaurant/fastfood employee for the good service, and say (or text) the words “I’m sorry” when you feel that you owe someone an apology. Two minutes may even be enough, sometimes, to say a prayer.
The point is – even if some things take only a few minutes of our time, many of us still can’t find the time to do them! And then we wake up one day realizing that it’s too late. “… Of all sad words of tongue and pen/The saddest are these,/It might have been!” (John Greenleaf Whittier)
Is there something good and thoughtful that you have been meaning to do, but “never found the time?” You may use the last two minutes (or maybe even the last twenty minutes) of a fixed hour to challenge yourself to do it. “It’s not about having time. It’s about making time.” What do you think?
Marilyn Arayata: inspirational author, columnist, speaker, and former DLSU-D faculty, your partner in preventing bullying, depression, and suicide. E-mail [email protected]. Like the Hope Boosters Facebook Page for nuggets of hope and inspiration.
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