I used to buy board games when my kids were little, way back when, and some came with little hourglasses with grains of sand in them. They were timers. Players would turn the hour glass, usually a two-minute timer, and make their move before the sand emptied into the bottom half. It was an essential piece of the game. Its purpose was time management. The player could not take his sweet time deciding his move. He had to take the initiative and go forward with his decision. Each second counted. He couldn’t procrastinate, as he would run out of time and lose his turn.
Our lives have a time limit. Some of us may have a bigger personal hourglass; some have smaller ones. Nonetheless, the sand in our unique hourglass is flowing down and our time in this world will conclude.
We need to be mindful of each moment in our lives, and try to make every moment count – to utilize the time we have been gifted with and infuse our moments with purpose and meaning. We must not over-think or hesitate to define our goals and sadly sabotage our ability to reach them in a timely manner. For example, when it comes to upgrading our skills or education; or committing to chesed work; or making aliyah, we have limited time to implement them. We should think carefully and with sechel – intelligence – over what to do as its crucial to make informed decisions. But then go ahead and make the move before the sand hits the bottom –and it’s too late.
