New Year is reminder to make the best of the time we have

Happy new year! An obvious greeting as we enter a new year. But whose year is it and which one do you honor? There are many different calendars to mark the arrival of a new year.

We use the Gregorian calendar that was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. There are many other ways to count the years. The Chinese lunar calendar has existed for more than 4,000 years, the Hebrew 3,760 more than the Gregorian. So, we are really the new kid on the calendar block.

But counting the hours, days, months and years is only one way to measure time.

It might seem obvious that measuring time is easy. Check your watch or cell phone and they tell you. That is time measured by quantity, how many minutes and hours have been counted. But it’s only the right time and year if you accept one calendar over another.

But is time the same for everyone? Or is it relevant to our perceptions of it?

Consider how time is measured by someone enjoying conversation with a friend against waiting for an egg to boil. Or, better, place your hand on a hot stove and see how long a few seconds feel.

There are two Greek words for time that help to unlock its meaning. Chronos is clock time, measured by the commonly accepted standards. It’s what we mean when we share the time of day. It’s time by its quantity or numbers.

But there’s another Greek word for time that unlocks a different, more nuanced understanding. It’s Kairos time, which is measured by its quality, its depth, not its length. This is a different way of measuring time, and one that yields wisdom for how best to live.

Every human life has elements of both quantity and quality times. It’s easier to measure quantity. Someone can say they are 30 years old. That’s Chronos, pure and simple. But what I ask you to measure Kairos time? How would you respond?

One way to describe Kairos time is to ask when were the decisive moments in your life when something very important happened when you were aware of a great moment or change.

Looking for Kairos moments in your life is a great way to understand yourself, what really matters.

The great moments of your life may at first seem obvious — when you made a decision about your vocation or partner or moving to a new area. But sometimes what may seem unimportant at the moment could be lifechanging when you look back.

The trick to finding Kairos in your life is staying awake to when it happens. You will feel its impact when it happens, and only when you look back can you see its importance.

Looking back, I realize my Kairos time was when a fourthgrade teacher took pity on me after I started public school after my early years in a more experimental learning environment. She saw my struggle but also my writing abilities, and encouraged me not only to write but to share my stories with the class.

At the time this early experience didn’t seem like much, but as I look back it was in that moment I realized what I was called to be and do in life in whatever form that has taken, from writing books and columns to teaching. In ancient times it might be said my fate was sealed.

As I have grown older and a little wiser, I have learned that how you spend time shapes the contours of your life. If you waste or abuse it you may never fulfill your purpose. If you pay attention to when Kairos happens and learn from it, you will find who you are and your essential reason for being here.

Ben Franklin was a practical philosopher who offered this wisdom about how best to live: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Or, as a friend of mine from long ago expressed it: “Life is millions of time zones. Make yours count.”