Happy Friday- the day we prepare to wind down for the weekend and enjoy some downtime. Today let’s spend a moment to consider time- how we spend it and its immense value.

 

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it”, wrote the Roman philosopher Seneca in his essay On The Shortness of Life. Essentially, life Isn’t Short- We Just Squander It. 28,245 days. That’s the average number of days we have on this earth. To put this in perspective I’ve already lived 20,935 days which leaves me 7,310 days more or less. More or less, that’s always the rub. It’s not about being morbid but mindful.

 

We protect our homes, possessions, and automobiles with insurance. We insure our lives to protect our families. We even have pet insurance to ensure our furry family members get the medical care they need. These are the things we protect. But do we protect our most precious asset-time? “People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”

 

Is there enough time to accomplish what we need to do? Seneca wrote, “Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.” What could we accomplish if we protected our time?

 

 

And speaking of time it seems to fly by as we age. Last weekend’s special event is but a drop in the bucket compared to the combined experiences of a 50, 60, or 70-year-old. Conversely, when we’re young our experiences represent a much larger fraction of our life and therefore seem longer.

 

 

Time is passing away before our eyes. It’s time to live like the mortals we are. After all, only immortals can afford to fritter their time away. Remember, there will never be a sunset like the one you’ll see tonight. That peculiar but funny expression that flashes across your partner’s face is unique to that moment and will never happen again. Let that sink in.

 

 

Therefore, practice saying no to more stuff on your calendar and focus on less because we will never step in the same river twice.