On some days, the sun takes on a warmer, brighter hue. The sky is kind and blue. Even the wind may adopt a sweet and inviting disposition. Days like those often bring small, lucky moments that can turn into treasured memories.
For instance, on a day like that, one may find oneself encountering a surprise of a few dollars in the pocket of one’s pants or in the crevices of one’s furniture. Of course, as the world progresses, a stray coin scarcely seems like it is valuable enough for a moment of celebration. Though hidden by its solidarity, the value of the stray coin is unique and immeasurable.
Many of our elders and mentors are quick to teach us the magic that lies in the art of accumulation. Although one stray coin is not particularly valuable, a thousand of them, accumulated wisely over the course of a year can be extremely useful. Similarly, a single virtuous act may not be especially significant, but several ethical choices and actions made throughout one’s lifetime can change the world.
Of course, it is true that under life’s realistic light, saving up a thousand coins, or even finding that many coins in the first place seem improbable. Yet, it is still quite shocking that with all this put into perspective, we still continue to waste so many things in our lives.
Within this list of many wasted things is perhaps the most precious resource of all. This is a resource we spend and we use every single day. It is the bookmark of every breath we take. It is the frame which encloses every memory we hold. It is the milestone that marks each life. This resource, of course, is time.
Everything we do with our lives is a simple barter we make using time. Some choose to barter their time for their career or for their family. Some choose to do so in exchange for happiness or experiences.
There are a few people, however, who seem to exchange it for nothing at all! Given how valuable time is, it is quite frustrating to think that anyone would exchange it for nothing. In fact, it is almost comparable to the idea of saving up coins for several years, then dumping it all into the bin for no reason. Is this not quite strange?
Yet, we are all guilty of doing the exact thing. Every time we fight over miniscule things, every time we pour our energy into tasks that are neither fulfilling or helpful to anyone, we are using up our time to do nothing.
There are 31,536,000 seconds in every year of our lives. Unlike coins, our seconds cannot be saved up in a jar or borrowed. Unlike coins, we cannot count exactly how much of it we have. What we can do is ensure that every second we receive is spent on something that is worth the time that is spent on it.
