Time

Time is an interesting thing to think about. I looked up the definition for time at dictionary.com thinking that it would be useful to see a refined description of time. I got a list of 64 definitions and sayings to illustrate the way we use time.

There are many sayings about time and philosophical thoughts about the value of time. It seems like in respect to time there is no in between ground. Either you have too much time or you don’t have enough. Rarely do I hear people say, “I had the perfect amount of time today.” Especially in western cultures people often say “I don’t have enough time” and expressions such as “time is money” are frequently heard. Our schedules are packed so full of things to do and places to go that every minute needs to be filled with something. This creates an interesting dichotomy that when you have to wait for something or have run out of things to do you say such things as “I’m killing time.” It is as if the moments of waiting exist in a vacuum and aren’t a part of life itself. Once the waiting is over living commences because then once again you can be busy and pack time with all sorts of activities. How many hours, days and weeks have we wasted, waiting for the next thing?

 I work in airport gift shops. A common response from people is that the reason they are in the store is because time is burdensome and they want to kill or waste it. The only moment in time that we are promised is the present moment. I think when we get so wrapped up in time either consuming it voraciously or murdering it we lose track of the preciousness of each moment. For all those times we wait how can we enjoy them for they may be our last? For all those times we are so busy we have no opportunity to just stop, are we really getting the most out of them for they may be our last? Whether busy or waiting remember that time ultimately wins and our seemingly inexhaustible source is finite. In business or waiting, live your moments for they are all you have.

 “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” - Henry Van Dyke