TEA TIME WITH RUTHIE: Don’t Wait Until It’s Late to Appreciate

Now a lot of us are familiar with, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” but do we really need to wait on that?

And let’s talk about that part. Many of us can think about some instances that we may have regretted not expressing to someone that their life impacted you, or that their kind gestures are appreciated. If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is that we should value the time that we spend together.

Many times our pride, ego and unawareness causes us to have regrets. We think only of ourselves or what we can gain from others and in the same breath, we miss out on all of what “should have been” if our focus was a bit different.

I know a lot of us has seen or can say that they’ve experienced moments when someone migrated, died or moved on without you and you realise that there was a lot of time wasted.

Sometimes it was the moments we spent arguing and not spending quality time together or just taking the time we had for granted.

When I first thought about this concept, I thought about the many times that I wasted taking for granted the time I had with my classmates at school that I called my friends and how much different it would be if I really spent more time with them.

Of course we sometimes never know when changes in life are about to happen and that actually even more the reason we should value each and every individual around us and the time we spend with them.

There are random moments when I am talking to someone and I think, “If this was the last time I saw or heard from them, what do I want them to leave with? What is something that I really want them to know that cannot be said over a phone call or text message?”

And for the most part, these are now words that are so loosely used that many don’t even say it anymore or to anyone outside or their parents and siblings, but “I love you” never loses it’s value in my eyes.

I often try to treat everyone as if they are experiencing their “worst day” and not add to it. Every time I think of how much I appreciate someone, I send a verse, I send a message, maybe even a phone call, because no time is promised but the present, so I use it.

It never is easy losing someone that you think will be there forever, but sometimes we forget that in this life, change is promised.

We forget that when time runs out, it doesn’t come back. That was never a false start or a test run.

So many times we eventually regret not spending more time with family members versus our friends and really we lost track of our focus.

And this might encourage you to make a phone call to a friend that you just randomly got distant with and that’s great, but don’t let this be something that happens only because someone reminded you. Do this out of habit, or out of routine.

Let every decision that you make to spend time, is spent wisely.

Love and value people. This does not even mean giving everybody access to you, and we talked about that in a previous blog.

It is so much better that people think you are unnatural from this generation and you love a lot and you are spontaneous with your love and appreciation than for you to live the rest of your life regretting what you SHOULD HAVE done, said, queried or cleared up.

This in no way even means, “I have to make every mistake or misunderstanding right” it means that in moments when I can, I will do right by those that I say I love off-screen and do right by me for the future.

~🇯🇲 The CreatOR creatED a creatIVE – Queen Ruthie 🇯🇲~