“We are collecting money for the children who…,” a young Kazakh girl stopped me. I gave her only one quick sight, then pretended that I don’t understand her and stepped on the zebra. “I want to eat, I want to get home, I want to find a shelter from the sun,” were my only thoughts while I was trying to open an ice-cream wrapping with my teeth. I failed and that made me angry. I hadn’t eaten anything on that day and it was already four o’clock in the afternoon. Thank god that the traffic lights just changed to green. I escaped to the other side of the road.
I haven’t felt so bad as I felt that night for a long time.
I realized (again) how easy it would be to change people’s lives while doing just small simple things. And how easily we decide to not do that. How our own “important” wishes become priority, such as finding a shadow or eating ice-cream while we could just take some seconds for listening. “I don’t mind supporting them with some coins but it’s too much trouble for now to find my wallet at the bottom of my bag. Besides, the lights just turned to green, I should really go,” I was thinking on that moment. What the hell, Madle? Almost helping someone is exactly the same as not helping at all. Exactly.
How often do we decide not to help others or ourselves?
- How many times did you ALMOST say a compliment?
- How many trips did you ALMOST take?
- How many times you were holding a phone and ALMOST called to someone?
- How many times did you ALMOST offer your hand?
- ALMOST said your opinion out loud?
- ALMOST quit your job but actually are still ticking there?
- ALMOST applied for a good university but then decided you are not good enough for that?
- Signed up for an event but in reality never appeared?
= you just wasted your time and energy to think about it but implemented exactly 0%.
How would your life look like if all those “I almost…” would have been “I did”?
How many times did you ALMOST climb a mountain?
Imagine you wake up every day with 18 400 euros in your bank account. You can do whatever you want to but at the end of the night it’s all gone whether you spent it or not. And then the next day you get another 18 400 euros. What would you do with it?
Everyday 18 400 seconds are deposited into your life account. We would never waste it if it was money, so why do we waste it if it comes to time? If you waste your time you will never get it back. [Jay Shetty]
You can’t collect time but you can spend it. If you ALMOST spend it… well that just means you are wasting it. You can always earn more money, but you can’t earn time.
Three days later I was walking on the street with my friend. We were chatting and rushing to grab something to eat before running for a bus. There was a young Kazakh boy standing with a little box. “We are collecting money for the children who…,” he stopped us, “are fighting for their lives in the hospital.” I gave him only one, but long sight and turned my three days ago ‘almost done’ into ‘done’.
I haven’t felt so good as at that moment for a long time.
But how many ‘almost-s’ are out there which never get a second chance?
…
Read also *how to change your life in one second* HERE
And *the most difficult exam we all need to take* HERE
Madle ❤
