jiefo Blog

There is never enough time

It is without a doubt that all of us are condemned to live a life where time remains scarce.

Yet it is also without a doubt that, barring catastrophe, nature has gifted us with an abundance of time upon birth. Time is said to be our greatest asset in our youth.

The irony arises when in our youth we trade away our time for things that have no business warranting such an invaluable price, only to then trade away everything we possibly can for more time as we deplete our savings.

But time cannot be saved nor regained. As we watch our time savings account slowly dwindle from decades to years to days to minutes, every second becomes more valuable, and we might find ourselves more often in states of angst, abandonment, anguish, or existential dread. It is simply the wrongly held belief that our time would remain abundant that causes us these complications. This perceived abundance in our youth curses us; the relative value of time is not so readily apparent to us.

What can be done then?

A simple, but difficult mind shift comes to fruition: A realization that time escapes every single one of us. The sooner this realization becomes in essence with your humanity, the better.

We must then hold this following mantra with us in everything we do: cherish every moment. To enjoy the passage of time, to allow yourself to feel the moment as it passes.

In moments of sorrow, grief, remorse, and suffering, remind yourself that you can still withdraw from the time bank, and indeed this too shall pass.

In moments of happiness, joy, passion, and love, you must cherish each, because indeed, this too shall pass.

In moments of stillness, we must meditate, be patient, grasp tightly as we enter into the moment, and most importantly, allow the moment to pass despite our desire to hold onto it.

To balance thoughts of “this will be good for my future” with decisive actions of “this will be good for me now” is the challenge; a balance that nonetheless an awareness of its necessity must be deeply rooted in everything that we do. I cannot exist both in my nostalgic past, where traces of memories remain nor can I exist in what I desire to be but am not yet. I will not forsake my past nor my future, but I must consciously offer the world myself as I am now. 

We must accept that the complexity of life should not force us to succumb to boredom when instead we may meditate. In practice we must learn to enjoy even the most mundane of tasks – to give ourselves grace and acceptance, perhaps even forgiveness, to perform all but one or two elementary tasks for the day such as taking a walk or folding the laundry while we meditate. Only when we place time in its rightful throne may we see the beauty in existence itself; indeed, we are here, and indeed it is magnificent to be present with one’s self.

We cannot afford to not be here and now in the present moment, enjoying the passage of time. To be: that to me is peace — that to me is happiness.

Thank you Ethan and William who continue to teach me these valuable lessons.