One of the most memorable times I really was struck by how fast life was moving along was in the fall of 1989. My oldest son was getting ready to start high school. Even though I had graduated from high school 21 years before, it seemed like it had just happened a few years previously. It was only a momentary awareness, but it definitely drew my attention to the passage of time..
The 1st century Stoic philosopher, politician and playwright, Seneca, addressed this issue in an essay known as On the Shortness of Life. One of his most famous quotes comes from this essay, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” He thoroughly expounds on the point that we tend to pay a great deal of attention to how we spend our money and protect our belongings but regularly waste our most valuable possession, time.
In our current age I suspect that the greatest consumers of our time are our electronic devices. If we were brave enough to track our screen time, we would probably be shocked by the amount of time that we spend staring at our displays while important daily activities are neglected. How often do we claim that we didn’t have time to accomplish everything on our agenda when the truth is that we were endlessly distracted by a series of news items, social media posts or prolonged texting with family or friends.
How often do we allow others to squander our time. I generally try to be kind and courteous towards others. However, I have reached my limit with telemarketers. Now, when they ask, “How are you today?”, I simply ask who they are and what do they want. I’m getting older and don’t know how much longer I’ll be around. So I choose not to waste time explaining why I am not interested in whatever it is they are selling.
I have been accused of being a workaholic, and there may be some truth to that. Mostly, I have always felt a need to be productive. That is not to say that I don’t relax occasionally, but I typically try to accomplish those things that are needful on a daily basis.
Years ago I came across a little book in a Christian book store. By its title I suspect that it was purchased for sale because it was assumed it dealt with salvation issues. However,If You Don’t Know Where You are going You will Probably Wind Up Somewhere Else provided career planning advice for young people. The title, nevertheless, offers sound advice for every aspect of our lives. We need to take time to clearly identify what we would like to achieve and spend our time effectively pursuing those goals.
I genuinely feel sorry for the millions of people who will reach the end of their lives knowing that things could have been so much better if they had simply been focussed and not squandered their time in frivolous activities. Seneca seemed to have this in mind when he wrote, “So you must not think that a man has lived long because he has white hair and wrinkles. He has not lived long, just existed long.. For what if you should think that that man had had a long voyage who had been caught by a fierce storm as soon as he left harbor, and, swept hither and thither by a succession of winds that raged from different quarters, had been driven in a circle around the same course? Not much voyaging did he have, but much tossing about.”
If we were to go on a long roadtrip, we would begin with a full tank of gas in the car. Initially, there would be little thought about how much fuel was being consumed because there was plenty in the tank. Side trips would be no concern until we reached a point where we realized the gage was nearing empty, and there was no gas station available to refill. Then, our destination would become a major concern.
Perhaps we should consider the fact that none of us has any guarantee of long life. A helpful habit would be nightly reflections on what we have accomplished that day. It would not be healthy for us to obsess over living productively, but regular circumspection certainly would be beneficial.
When I was about 30 years old, I wrote a son~~g entitled Leaf On A River. Clearly I was already reflecting on how easily time can slip by without our conscious awareness. The 3rd verse and chorus are as follows:
3
Life is like a leaf on a river.
Seems like it will go on forever.
But, look away for a moment and it’s gone.
Past the rocks and around the bend.
Never to be lived again.
Into the sea forever,
Your life is gone.
Chorus:
And that sea keeps on growing
As our lives keep on flowing bye and bye,
And all the while inside we’re knowing
That it won’t be long till we are out of time.
A final word from Seneca,
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing..”
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