The Gift of 86,400 Seconds

Photo credit: My husband. He used some of his 86,400 seconds to find beauty in nature. 

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of 86,400 Seconds

“Imagine this: If you had $86,400 in an account and someone stole $10 from you, would you be upset and throw all of the remaining $86,390 away in hopes of getting back at the person who took your $10? Or move on and live? Right, move on and live. See, we have 86,400 seconds each day. Don’t let someone’s negative 10 seconds ruin the remaining 86,390. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is bigger than that.”

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You’ve heard it said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

What does that mean?

Life is a series of seconds with good and bad between.

Do you let the smallest inconvenience ruin your day?

Or do you look at it as a small hiccup, and get on with the rest of your day.

You really do have 86,400 seconds each and every day. 

When you break it down to those numbers there is much to ponder and convey.

Ponder those good seconds.

Learn from the bad.

Move on, live in a space of joy.

There may be times when those seconds seem long.

Just pull from the well of goodness.

Find your joy and inner peace. 

Make those 86,400 seconds count.

It will give your soul some release.

When I first read the quote above I stopped, read it again, then read it once more for good measure. Do we really have 86,400 seconds each day? Well, yes we do. Sure, some of that is for sleeping, eating, doing those normal things. But when we are awake are we letting little (and in some cases big) situations steal our joy? As we are entering the Christmas season, I can’t help but wonder if this time of year is particularly a second stealer. Gifts, materials, worries about finances, worries about the high price of just about everything. That can suck the will to be sure. What if we change the mindset concerning our seconds? Years ago I decided to stop buying material gifts for Christmas. I would rather bake some cookies, play someone a song, sing for them or even just give a visit. I did this for various reasons. One of which was at the encouragement of an older person. She told me that there will come a time when you will be surrounded by material things but your house will be empty. The children will be grown, family members come and go. She explained very sadly that you will long to be around your loved ones rather than the “things” that you accumulated in life. Now, some folks are probably saying, “I can’t stand my family!” Okay, there are some folks that are just not that great to be around. That is perfectly understandable. But what brings you joy? When I started pondering 86,400 seconds I did a little internet search for other people’s thoughts on the subject. William Arthur Moore said, “God gave you 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say, ‘Thank you?’” Well, in that little message I decided each morning no matter how hard it is to wake up to Thank God for the day. I am not a morning person. This has been a challenge. Have you used those seconds to be brave? Have you used them to speak the truth when it is hard? Have you just had a moment of thanks that the day is mundane? Have you used those seconds to just listen to someone who needs a listening ear? That is better than terrible seconds, right? My husband often says something along the lines of, “The older I get, the more I am happy about non-events.” As I wrote in a previous musing, life can be 10 seconds of a roller coaster ride. Next, it can be a gentle lazy river. Then the storm comes and blows you around. In each of those instances, Hold on. Hold on through the times when you barely have the strength, those fingers are slipping. You are at the brink. Hold on for dear life, look, seek, and pray. When the day is the darkest, keep the faith. The sun will soon be rising, the day will be new again. When the sun rises, you have those 86,400 seconds to try again. Selah my friends. Pause and reflect calmly.

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming soon!

Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel