Redimiendo el Tiempo - Redeeming the Time

I have said it is best to live (vivir) in the moment and when I began this trip to Santiago, I promised myself that I would do so to the fullest and to the best of my ability (mis habilidades).  I wanted and do want to be available (disponible), to be thoughtful and to be engaged in each part of the day as it comes my way.  I have told my friends and family that I would live in the moment and they all supported me and gave me their collective approval, that this manner, at least in theory (en teoría), is the best way to live, learn and explore.

When you do try and live in the moment (en el momento), in many ways, you redeem the time in the day and the day in a real sense actually gets longer.  In that, I mean that each moment of each day actually becomes richer and you in effect become more cognizant.  In this approach, you are fully engaged with your total self (todo la persona) all the time, with all your senses, with all your efforts, with all your focus.  To me, this is the definition (la definición) of redeeming the time, truly living in each moment and making the most of each day.

Each day (el día) that we are blessed to live is truly measured in the same way, there are 24 hours (horas) in the day, and each hour consists of 60 minutes (minutos), and each minute is further divided and consists of 60 seconds (segundos), wherever you are in the world.  Therefore, in any given day your have 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds of time, and to live in the moment is to not waste any of it or worry it away, but to engage (contratar) in it with everything you have.  This is something the folks here in Chile have in spades and the differences between the way they live and how I approach my life are uniquely different.  I think I am living in the moment, but they actually do live in the moment. Whether it is stopping work to view a spontaneous performance of national dances (bailes nacionales) or to stop and watch young people (los jóvenes) playing in the plaza on the way to work, the people where in Chile walk the walk, when it comes to living in the moment. Again, I have a lot to continue to learn (aprender).

Living in Santiago the past few months (pocos meses) has in many ways forces my hand (mi mano) to live in the moment, to redeem the time, because in effect, my time here is limited. The period (el periodo) of my visit is fixed, it says so in my passport and on my ID card, and each day that I am here, I move further from the beginning (la empieza) and closer to the end (el fin). To live in the moment means that I have to listen, I have to try, I have to work and it requires effort and concentration, but that is truly what it means to redeem the time, because in many ways, today, this day of 24 hours, 1440 minutes, 86,400 seconds, this day is all that we have.