It's just 5 minutes, does it matter?

So i'd been planning on going home for the new year for months...set up for meals, bag packed, plane ticket purchased...and only one thing missing...falling asleep the night before without setting my alarm. I was supposed to leave at 8:15am, and I woke up at 8:30am to find the lights on, missing items from my suitcase and much dis array.

So I did dream about setting my alarm in the middle of the night....

After a quick rendition of thanking G-d for returning me to the world, I scurried out of my humble abode and entered the world of the train.

9:05...darting up the train tracks, heavy bags in hand, only to have the brown line bluntly shut it's doors in my face...I could put my hand on the tangible vessel to take me to the destination but...ding, dong...'doors closing.' No such luck. I wait and I wait, until finally, the rush of the wind from the next train comes....
9:15....I board, while anxiously glancing at my watch, sure I had no chance of making it on time. Then, almost sarcastically, I hear the man's voice over the loudspeaker...'attention passengers, we are experiencing delays...there seems to be a problem with the tracks ahead....'
9:25....inching along, I realize, the first time I boarded a plane was at 15...for 10 years I had been using this modern genious creation of technology and never once had I ever missed a flight. Call it type A planning tendencies, call it whatever, but why was I about to miss such an important flight to be in an important destination at the most crucial time in the calendar?
9:45....on the orange line now and getting closer, near tears but hoping there's a prayer...
10:00...with a flight leaving at 10:25, there was no way I was going to make it...I might as well give up and accept the fact I was going to not see my family for the weekend...
10:10...."this is as far as this train goes, all passengers must exit..." and gladly, mr. el! I run up the stairs, dart through the escalator and rush to my entry point...hit the check in desk, watch as they place a "Late Check In" sticker on my bags and rush away....
10:20...I get to the first check in point...she checks my ID and opens my boarding pass envelope....no boarding pass....(what? that never happens to me either!!) and turn around and run back, still sure I am not going to make it and clueless as to why i am even trying at this point...don'teven firstborns still need to know when to give it a rest? Before I can even make it to the escalator, I see the wonderful woman who helped me rushing down the stairs, my boarding pass in hand..."ms. leah, ms. leah!" wow, such customer service....
10:23...I rush through the security point...the pointman tells me..."miss, walk, don't run!" I look at him and say, "Ok, sorry," but in my head, I'm thinking, 'dude, the world is about to be renwened and re-created in like 7 hours...if you knew that you would be running too!" But i didn't...
10:23-10:27....running to my gate....and darting through people and probably looking a bit shady and feeling like the world moves so fast when it doesn't work for me, and so slow when I don't need it to...
10:28...arrive at the gate, absolutely breathless...the attendant tells me, 'miss, please walk over to the counter and get another boarding pass...and don't worry, we arent leaving without you, there are plenty of passengers still boarding...'

By the skin of my teeth, I made it!
As I sat, panting, and in between two people deeply involved in the Tribune, I wondered, what could I learn from this experience?

Then, I realized, one of my goals for the previous month was to learn how to use time better, more efficiently, days filled with the energy of being meaningful and productive....maybe this was a very physical way of seeing that even if I had woken up early and used time differently, I would have made it on time, but would I have really wanted it as bad? I really realized that I reallly wanted to be home and since there were all these challenges in my path, I was forced to use time very strategically and keep my eyes on the end goal, not allowing distractions.

So too in life. Time goes by so much slower when we use each minute for a purpose, for our own development to actualize our potential and accept our challenges. I could have walked, but if I didn't run, I would have missed the flight...and because they were delayed, only by five minutes, I was able to make the plane to take me to a place I knew was really important for me to be....

So, in the hustle and bustle of our crazy busy world, does five minutes matter?
Yes, it does....it can mean the difference between getting left behind or boarding the plane that takes us to the next important place. In a society that so often mutters, 'i don't have time,' isn't it odd that we are yet so focused on the existence of the clock that simply makes 24 circles in the period called a day?

So be present.....time isn't a credit card after all....once it's gone, it's gone...
and planes, unlike trains, don't hesitate once they've left the platform......