25 Hours

After years of wishing there were more than 24 hours in a day, so that I might have a fighting chance of doing everything that needs doing, I am convinced that today actually had at least 25 hours. By the evening, it felt as though the foot exercises I'd done in the morning had been yesterday, so that I needed to do more. By the afternoon, I couldn't quite believe that all the receipts had the same date on them. Somehow, I had been uptown and downtown and partly across town all in the same day, and had transported a kid to and from school to boot. And in the midst of it all, I had written a proposal and cooked a lasagna.
 
I am not writing this litany to pat myself on the back for how much I accomplished (though it is good sometimes to remind ourselves how productive we really are). Rather, I am writing it because today I had the realization that, while there can't really be extra hours in a day, there can be enough hours to do an awful lot--and be a lot of different versions of ourselves--if we keep our eyes, and ears, and minds open. We can go through each day with a goal, or two, and be happy when we accomplish those one or two things. Or we can start each day open to all the things we might do, and then just try to keep at it as we make our way through them all. It's not that we won't run out of time in a day. It's just that we might see the day as a lot longer if we are open to using it in creative ways.
 
It is quite possible that many days will feel far more like 12 hours than like 25. It is likely that the challenge of stretching time will be an unending one. But if one day out of many can feel as though it has 25 hours, just think about all the extra time we have...