Waste

“Time is of the essence,” “time and tide wait for no man,” “time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.”
It’s weird that since writing this I have randomly had a song play on my playlist called “In the Course of Time.”  “ Yes, there's a fire on the trail /  Long, weary days and bread that has long gone stale…Danger just heightens what I feel / I reach out with my Sistine finger to touch the wheel …Clouds no longer on my eyes / Fear is no jury when the heart retries…All these mountains left to climb / but it's all in the course of time”
I have been thinking about wasting time.  I think it is really important to get the definition of waste right before considering it.  Looking at Dictionaries waste can be used in many different ways.  An invader can lay waste to a village.  A deserted or desolate place is considered a waste land.  An ability that is not made the most of can be considered a waste of talent.  An unwanted by product is considered a waste.  The waste I am thinking of is “to fail to take advantage of…, lose” (Free Dictionary)
It seems to me so often I can consider something a waste and it is not.  I am big on balance.  I am against trying to do something 24/7.  I have found that so often when I do that, I could have done in an hour what took all of the 7th day to do.  I just don’t think I was built to work 24/7.
By the same token sleep can for me be a waste, and not a waste.  I need sleep.  If I don’t get it, I pay a high price.  When I need it, it is not a waste.  But if I have too much that is a waste.   I can tell when I have slept too much.  My legs ache and I wake up incredibly groggy.  The time would have been better spent doing something else.
The most I ever spent on a book was about a computer program I was learning at the time.  Many of the top web sites are built on it.  I reckon I had my site pretty good.  I do not know what the circumstances were, but I mentioned Drupal to someone at work.  She said “you can take something for that.”  Anyway I learned it.  It is probably even safe to say I became obsessed in learning it.
Thankfully someone who could see what was going on came to my aid.  It was before Merril and I were married.  She arrived at my place and as usual I had my head buried in the computer program book.  She suggested we go for a drive.  “let me take you away from all this” from a lady is too good to refuse at the best of times, but it was so right to do.  We went for a drive and stopped at a place near lakes for refreshments.  I could have seen that as a waste of time, but it wasn’t.  I needed to get away.  It was a recalibration.  Too much of anything is too much.
In table tennis I talk to myself and really don’t listen.  Concerning waste, I talk to myself.  I may be really slow, but I listen, get it and thankfully do it.