There is no such thing as LATER!
True story!
No facts or names, although sometimes I wish I could take my name out of this, have been changed.
During the holidays, a few days before the new year, I was staying with friends at their apartment. They live in a rather large complex that has ample parking for visitors. There’s one catch, however. Between the hours of midnight and 5 AM all cars are required to vacate those visitor parking spots.
For a week, towards the end of the day, I had diligently moved my car from a visitor parking space to a space on the street. I got into a routine with this daily task and didn’t give it much thought. Yes, it was a hassle, but so what. I understood the policy and was compliant.
Until one day…….
On this particular Saturday, late in the afternoon, three of us piled into a car along with my friend’s two month old. It was to be the first beach adventure for her baby. We spent a fun few hours at the beach, watched the sunset, and arrived back home content, our time and energy well spent.
We also arrived home wet, dirty, and hungry with a newborn who needed to be fed.
As we pulled into the parking lot and passed where my car was parked, I said, “Hey, I should get out and move my car!” One of my friends said, “You can do it later!” And so I said to myself, sure I can do it later…….
Fast forward to 7 AM the following morning.
I sit bolt upright in bed and YELL, “Oh Shit, the car!”
We run outside only to find that the car has been TOWED!
So here it is Sunday morning, what a lovely way to start the week.
After waking up the apartment complex manager to find out where to retrieve my car, off we went.
Hours later, as well as $197.50 later (ouch that really hurts), I had my car back.
It was an emotionally stormy day for me and I couldn’t stop thinking about how I had wasted the money and how could I have possibly forgotten to move the car when for so many days I had made it a point to make sure I moved the car and on and on and on my mental chatter went!
Life does go on, though.
And then a few days later it struck me.
It was a lesson in the concept of later.
There really is no later. It’s a mental construct that doesn’t exist.
There is a past……that was then.
There is a now……but later doesn’t exist because when we get to what we think of as LATER it becomes the NOW.
We all know that expression, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” While there are some very valid practical reasons for putting things off and handling them at another time, I hope you see what I’m getting at here.
I also found it prophetic that this happened to me right before entering into the new year. It’s a new year and a new decade. I also think it’s a good time for self reflection.
Maybe later never comes, maybe opportunities fade away, maybe people (and cars) are gone before you get to it later.
What have you been putting off until later?
Give it some thought because there really is no later!
shelli
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