Giving the Gift of You this Holiday Season

Time is money.  How many of you have heard this?  It’s a quote from Ben Franklin. To some extent, in a business context, there is truth to it.  But there is much more to time than money.  Money spent can most often be replaced.  Once time is spent it can never be regained.  What you do with your time creates a history.  Each act become part of the timeline of your life.  Each act lives out its own moment, never to be recreated.  Time is truly our most precious commodity.

Living in the era of Covid, I’ve come to better understand that how I spend my time directly impacts my mood and my coping skills.  Spending mindless time in front of the TV may help “pass time”, but too much of it leaves me feeling empty, void of something more important.  I feel better when I use my time to connect with people and nature.  I go outside and listen to the rush of the breeze through the trees and the birds’ sweet melodies sailing on that breeze.  I take in the lush green (or barren, frozen landscape) and the majesty of the trees.  I smile at my neighbor and even venture a hello through my masked face, knowing the energy of that smile will reach that person even if they can’t see it with their eyes.  They can feel it.

In the coming holiday season, the greatest gift you can give is that of your time, because that is the gift of you.  Giving the gift of your time is like saying, “You matter to me.  You are important to me.”  And nothing is as valuable as that love.  Nothing.

Having been apart from my beloved family and friends has taught me that it isn’t money that I prize, it’s the time I have with the people I love that matters most.  Here are a few ways you can connect with people over the holidays while living in a pandemic.

1. Pick up the phone and call someone. Be it your kids, grandkids, a cousin, aunt or uncle or your best friend from college, make that call and get connected.
2. Use technology. Facebook, Facetime (or with an Android, Video Chatting), Skype, or What’s App all offer excellent ways to speak and see your loved ones, even from afar.
3. Take a socially distanced walk (especially in a park) with people you enjoy. Connect with strangers with a warm hello.
4. Volunteer to connect with those who are shut-in. Social and religious organizations have programs in which you can participate.
5. Going grocery shopping? Ask a shut-in friend if they need anything.  Doing a good deed sends happiness levels through the roof!

Be a Savvy Senior!  Use your time wisely this holiday season and give the gift of your time to the people you love the most.