A friend of mine told me that he and his family really wanted to get involved in the peaceful protesting that has been going on throughout the communities across the world. He found out that his particular community was going to meet up at an appointed time in the city’s downtown area to kneel for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. When the time came he and his family took a knee and knelt down as did all the other protesters. After what seemed like a while his son asked “how long have we been kneeling it feels like we have been down here for a very long time.” My friend looked at the timer and said it has only been one minute.
My friends telling of this story starting me to thinking about this whole concept of time. I spend time working sleeping watching tv I was thinking if this was the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of my life am I doing the most important thing right now. Am I fulfilling my purpose. Let’s just think about this for a second what could you do in 8 minutes and 46 seconds? I was curious about this so I googled it and here are some activities I found out you can do: You could bake a batch of cookies, you can walk or run a mile, two if you are very fast. you can present a Toastmaster speech, I knew that one on my own because I have done it, you can write an entire song or a major scene of a play, and you can kill a man all in eight minutes forty-six seconds. What could you do in 8 minutes and 46 seconds?
Could you apologize for that rude thing you said? Could you risk being vulnerable to tell your family about your fears? Would you scream I can’t breathe? Could you stop being stubborn and ask for help?” Could you call out to your mom? if you knew you only had 8 minutes and 46 seconds left on this earth what could you do? What would you do?
If you knew you only had 8 minutes and 46 seconds left what pictures would flash through your minds eye? Would you see a life well lived? A life of triumphs, victories and successes? Would you see a life the family left behind would be proud of and would say well done good and faithful servant so glad you can rest? If you knew you only had 8 minutes and 46 seconds left what pictures would your mind’s eye draw?
So far we have talked about things that we can do to push our lives forward but what about when circumstances or people hold us down. Is time the same for everyone? It seems time moves differently depending on what side of the 8 minutes and 46 seconds you are on. If you are the one holding someone down, it seems you have all the time in the world, time moves slowly. However, when you are the one being held down time moves very fast. Time is definitely different depending on what side of the 8 minutes and 46 seconds you are on.
You might ask me why 8 minutes and 46 seconds? Why not 8 minutes or 9? This was the precise time that one man’s life went from 46 years to 8 minutes 46 seconds. Had the 46 years that was spent doing whatever was done overshadowed by the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds?
What about you at some point you are going to get to the end will the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds mean more than the prior 21, 34, 55, 62 years that came before it?
What are those things that you want to accomplish in the next day week month or year and what do you need to do in this 8 minutes and 46 seconds so that in your last 8 minutes and 46 seconds you can say it is finished.