January 3, 2008

My dentist has a sign hanging in his office that reads, "If you ignore your teeth, they will go away." In a way, I look at this sign as a metaphor for the need to take care of and tend to the important things and people in your life. The reality is, anything in which you invest your time and energy will grow and flourish and stay healthy and strong. And anything that goes untended will eventually wither and go away. The more important reality is that our two most precious resources are time and energy. Unfortunately, we have a limited supply of both. Accordingly, it is vital that we take a good look at where we are investing our time and energy to ensure that the things that have the most value to us are not left to wither and eventually go away.

One of the best ways to decide where to invest your time and energy is to take a personal inventory of the things that matter most to you. Some of the things that matter most will be obvious to you but others might not. For example, we don't always pay close attention to our health but it is critical that we not take it for granted lest it take a turn for the worse. Accordingly, if we value our health, we need to invest time and energy in it in order to maintain it. Likewise, we can have important relationships with family and friends that we might take for granted but when we don't invest the time and energy into maintaining them, they too can take a turn for the worse.

Just for today, spend some time getting in touch with where you are investing your time and energy. Make sure you focus on all aspects of your life, including your body, your intellect, your spirit, your emotions, and your critical relationships. Are the objects of your attention the things that matter most to you? Do you need to reconsider how you are spending your limited amount of time and energy to ensure that the things that matter most continue to grow, flourish and prosper? Are you remembering to invest time and energy in yourself as well as in others? The reality is, you are sending messages to yourself and others and to the universe by where you put your energy. Work to ensure that the contributions of time and energy are serving your highest good... for you deserve all of the good the universe has to offer. And so it is.