Foundational Fridays -- Perfectly Present

The older I get, the faster I feel time is going. I've shared this sentiment with several others recently and received their north and south head nods supporting the same. Only yesterday, I was a very young man, embarking on and embracing my Air Force career. In a blink, 30 years went by.

Just this morning, as I had some moments with my two 20-something children, I had a hard minute considering and contemplating that just yesterday, my wife and I were welcoming these wonderful children into this world. When did they become adults?!

Tomorrow, I officiate the retirement of an Air Force leader with whom I served my last two years in uniform. I'm certain, as she thinks about the past near quarter century that she served in uniform she will feel like it just started.

Shorter Foundational Fridays this morning as I will soon get on the road, driving back to Washington DC to be in place for tomorrow morning's ceremony. Nothing like traveling the I-95 corridor during the summer. Could take me three hours, might take me five hours to arrive at my hotel sometime later today.

While I don't mind most of the drive, those who know the swirling, snarling traffic in the National Capitol Region, would acknowledge it is almost always "bad". It gets far worse during the summer as people flow into the area to take in the amazing museums, monuments, and memories to be made.

Which brings us to Thoreau's thoughts here. Take captive of every minute because we may not have ten, let alone tens of thousands of minutes left. There are 1.440 minutes in every 24 hours. We spend a third of that time sleeping, well do I.

I'm talking to myself this morning about being more intentional, and hopefully, more impacting with the time I have remaining. I know I've let many days escape me without thinking that my time here isn't eternal.

But being more perfectly present in those minutes and moments remaining may well echo far beyond however much time the Good Lord will give me here.

Find eternity in every moment. Well said Henry David, well said.