I've been waiting to start working toward many of my dreams.
I always tell myself a better time will come in the future when I can be more focused, after current obligations and distractions have ceased.
It seems like there is too much to tackle throughout the course of the day. The time I have available never feels like enough to even dream about my aspirations.
What I am learning, as unfortunate as it sounds, is there never will be a seemingly perfect time to start pursuing the dreams I have.
For every menial obligation I complete today, a new one will likely begin tomorrow. Every distraction I can eliminate now seems to be replaced by two more almost instantaneously. This is a part of the human condition we all face.
In a perfect world, I'd be able to stop the clock between my chores and turn my free minutes into hours, like that guy from the "Clockstoppers" movie we all watched growing up.
I think if I could have one superpower, the ability to stop time would be the one I would pick.
Unfortunately, I can't stop time, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon. I haven't found one of those magical watches to slow everything down.
It's a frustrating realization that the conditions for carrying out our aspirations will always seem unfavorable and compromised by humdrum chores. But, it seems we have no other choice than to work within the constraints of time we have.
I like the way CS Lewis puts it in one of his addresses titled, “Learning in War-Time.” This statement was made during World War II, when the question was raised as to whether or not a student ought to begin his studies, in light of the likelihood he may be drafted for war before completing his education:
“There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. "If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. "Favorable conditions never come.”
If we want our dreams badly enough, we ought to begin today, making do with the small chunks of time we have.
It would seem, therefore, the question transforms from, “Will the right time ever come?” to, “How badly do I want for my dream to come true?”
Revelations regarding reality are often far from spectacular. The constraint that the space-time continuum places on us all is one of those realizations we must face.
There is, however, a glimpse of hope upon facing this realization. The fact that the perfect time to begin our efforts never comes can serve us by substantially thinning out the opposition we will face along the road toward our dreams.
To believe we are the only person with our particular aspiration would be an ignorant belief. That said, we very well may be one of the meager few who are willing to begin before circumstances seem to permit.
Lewis continues his statement, saying:
“It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for.”
Our God-given aspirations can be happily accomplished by taking our long-term plans somewhat lightly, and working within the daily time constraints we have.
So, while the right time to begin never comes, not all hope is lost after all. Assuming our aspirations are strong enough, we may follow our dreams all the way to their actualizations, and face fewer contenders along the way as a direct result of this fact of life.
