On the Shortness of Life
"“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” – Seneca
The Illusion of Abundance
We act as though time were limitless, yet hoard our money as if it were sacred. We would defend our possessions fiercely, but surrender our days without protest—to distractions, empty conversations, and pursuits that leave our souls untouched.
The Examined Life
Seneca urges us to treat time as a wise merchant treats his gold: to track where it goes, to question its returns, and to ensure it’s spent on what truly matters. Each hour is a transaction—are we investing in growth, or squandering what can never be earned again?
Reclaiming Your Hours
The answer is not to stretch life’s length, but to deepen its quality:
- Guard your time as you would your fortune.
- Invest in what endures—learning, love, and virtue.
- Strip away the trivial; most of life’s noise disguises itself as importance.
- Live now—the past is sealed, the future unwritten.
The Paradox of Time
Those who live with intention find that life expands. It is not brevity that haunts them, but abundance. Only those who drift without purpose lament how fast the years go by.
As Marcus Aurelius reminded us: “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”