(Clearwisdom.net) It has often been mentioned in articles that many practitioners spend a lot of time on housework and taking care of their grandchildren. They therefore don't have enough time to clarify the truth. Some of them don't even have time to study the {Fa}, send forth righteous thoughts, or practice the exercises.

Master mentioned in "Practicing Cultivation After Retirement:"

"What will you cultivate without any troubles? How can you improve yourself? One's lifetime is limited. Oftentimes you plan things quite well, but do you know whether you will have sufficient time left for your cultivation? Cultivation practice is not child's play. It is more serious than anything of everyday people--it isn't something to take for granted. Once you miss the opportunity, when will you be able to get a human body again in the sixfold path of reincarnation? Opportunity knocks but once. Once the illusion that you cannot let go of disappears, you will realize what you have lost."

I would like to share my way to work around my very busy schedule. Most of my life up until now was taking care of old people. After I got married, my mother-in-law was always sick and constantly went to hospitals. After work, on the weekends, or during holidays, I was always taking care of my parents-in-law. This went on for about 18 years. After they passed away, the health of my own mother and father deteriorated. The responsibility for taking care of them again fell on me. I am responsible for their food, clothing, daily life, travel, doctor visits, and hospitalizations. I also have to take care of my grandchildren.

We are different than ordinary people, since we come here to assist Master in the Fa-rectification period. We have to do the three things and we must do them well. We have to make these things a priority and arrange our schedules accordingly. If we don't have a large chunk of time, we have to use smaller chunks of time to study the Fa and practice the exercises. This will allow all the three things to be completed without any delay.

Master said in "Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference:"

"It's cultivation, so don't be intimidated by difficulties. No matter what, no matter how hard it is, you are definitely able to come through on the path given to you by Master. (Applause) As long as you raise your xinxing you can make it through."

Other words from Master in "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Singapore" come to mind:

"To fulfill the Fa, you must first of all be a good person. When you're being a good person, that is an act of fulfilling the Fa. But since you're cultivating among everyday people, after all, you need to go still higher than all of these things."

I would like to share my experiences and how I dealt with this situation over these past few years.

When children are young, especially before the age of one and half, they normally need more than 10 hours of sleep. Before the age of 10, they generally need to sleep for 10 hours each day. Therefore, in addition to performing housework, we should still have some time to do the three things. The group practice time for Falun Dafa disciples in China is the early morning or late in the evening, while old people and children in the family are still sleeping. We can finish our exercise practice in the early morning or late in the evening like other disciples.

I try my best to send forth righteous thoughts on time. If I cannot do it then, I will find some other time to make it up. At home, we can play Master's lectures or Shen Yun performance DVDs for the older people or children of the family. Also, we can read the Fa to them. If we take our children or elders when we do outdoors activities, (if the seniors are still mobile, we can take all of them together) we can use the time to shop for our daily needs, send forth righteous thoughts, distribute truth-clarifying materials, or even clarify the truth. If we stay outside for a long time, we can use the time to memorize and recite the Fa, teach our children to memorize the poems in Hong Yin, or ask them to recite "Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are good." By doing this, they won't get sick easily and they will be easier to take care of. The older people and children in my family have greatly benefited from this.

If we don't have a large chunk of time, we can use small periods of time to perform housework. For example, we can clean one window a day. Housework that is not urgent can be done separately. Because we don't have a lot of time, doing these things all at once will reduce or eliminate the time to do the three things. If our old folks or children have to be hospitalized, it is better to find someone else to help. For example, if we hire a babysitter or ask other relatives to help out, we can maintain the same pace for doing the three things. If we can buy ready-to-eat or pre-cooked foods, we can save even more time. The time that we save should be used for doing the three things instead of doing ordinary people's work. When we follow the standard of Dafa, our family members will support us and sometime help us.

Moreover, the environment is very important. We have to clarify the truth to our family members and babysitters. If they can support us in doing the three thing, that's even better, and we will have enough time to do them.

Only when we place the three things as our first priority will Master help us and give us enough time to do them.

October 18, 2009