Time: The most precious possession humans have
In physics, time is relative & malleable, but for mere mortals, it is absolute and finite. The end of the year is a good time to take stock of “Time”
The relativity of time in physics and in human life
In physics the faster you travel through space, the slower “Time” flows. At its limit, Light (electromagnetic radiation) does not experience any passage of time as it travels at the universe’s speed limit (i.e. the speed of “light”)
For us humans on the other hand, “Time” is absolute and finite. The more we move through life, the less of it we have left. The more time we waste, the less we have remaining.
But even more salient is the fact that time is not only absolute and finite but of unknown and unknowable duration.
So, we have our work cut out for us in using this precious commodity that we call “Time” as well and efficiently as we can.
Time in the context of an average human lifespan
A couple of sobering statistics related to human lifespan
- Tim Urban popularized the concept of looking at human life as blocks of time in weeks, months, or years, in order to get a perspective on time span of a full life (90 years). Most of us will be lucky to live that long or be healthy throughout that span of life.
Checkout the various depictions of lifespan here
2. For parents, it’s important to realize that your time with your child is precious and very front-loaded. By the time a child reaches the age of 18, he or she would have already spent 90% of the total time they will ever spend with their parents. Are you making the most of that time?
The Stoicisms & Vipassana views on the brevity of life
As usual, our wise ancestors in both the Western and Eastern philosophical traditions — Stoicism & Vipassana (Buddhist Mediation) respectively, had something to say about our time on this earth.
Impermanence
In Vipassana's teachings, everything in life is considered impermanent including life itself. That means both joyful & exhilarating experiences as well as sad & painful experiences. Equanimity towards both ends of the spectrum is recommended as all experiences good or bad shall pass. Life itself is impermanent so don’t get overly attached to it.
However, experience each moment to the fullest without distraction and anxiety about the future or post-mortem of the past.
Last time mediation
Likewise in the Stoic tradition, the brevity of life requires us to examine our thoughts and behavior and spend time & energy thinking and worrying about only those things under our control and letting go of and accepting those things that are not under our control.
The Stoics also espoused what’s called “The last time mediation”, which is a conscious awareness of whatever you do when you do it because you will never know when the last time is that you do any given activity — picking up a child, playing a family board game, playing your favorite sport, going out for a walk, or even doing dishes. There will inevitably be the last time that you do any significant or mundane activity. So, pay attention.
Conclusion
Humans are not subatomic particles traveling at the speed of light and able to slow down time. Time for us is finite and uncertain. So,
- Live every day as though it could be your last (last time mediation)
- Pick & choose what you want to do with your time. After all, you pick and choose how you spend your limited money. Even money comes and goes. Time only goes!
- Live in the present. Time is too precious to share with the past and the future.
- Cherish your experiences, however mundane they may be. Just because time is limited does not mean you live at a frantic pace and try and do as many things as you can (this is a common mistake). Choose wisely, invest fully in, and enjoy thoroughly what you do.
- Time spent worrying about things outside your control is precious time that is lost forever. So, do something about the things under your control, accept things that are not under your control, and move on.
