Time

One monk said that what we give God is our time.  Time is the common denominator that each monk gifts to God in their belief system.  Some monks meditate more, some work more, some read more than other monks and so on.  But they all give the one gift that each of them share: time.  Time is not ours, but is really a gift.  Suicide cuts the gift short, as does poverty,  addiction and loneliness.  But wealth does not guarantee anything.  So the vocation of the monk is to give their God time as a very basic gift.  Whatever time they will have left on this earth, they will live it in their individual ways in a monastery.  So I don't think so much about how I am using my time, but rather that it is given to God here in this place for however long I am here.  And how about you who are not a monk?  Time is your received gift.  To whom and how do you give it as a gift?  "I have no time for you, or this/that," is a phrase we often hear and can cut deeply if someone won't give us any time.  How much time for a spiritual practice? Connecting with friends and family? Physical activity and sleep?  And so it goes.  Knowing that God has all my time here, I do not fret about wasting time.