Meditations I: On Wasting Time

"Think of your many years of procrastination; how the gods have repeatedly granted you further periods of grace, of which you have taken no advantage. It is time now to realise the nature of the universe to which you belong, and of that controlling power whose offspring you are; and to understand that your time has a limit set to it. Use it, then, to advance your enlightenmeant; or it will be gone, and never in your power again."

It is important that we seize each moment and use every opportunity to do what we must do. Time is short and ever fleeting; we do not, after all, have infinite amounts of it. Like sand in your fingers, it will slowly disappear.

This quote from Marcus Aurelius resonates with me at time where, as a teacher in his early 30s, I am taking stock of who I am, who I want to become and where I want to be. I constantly refer back to this book (Meditations) to remind myself that, in order to become the best version of myself possible, I have to use each moment of time wisely. After all, if I throw it away, I will never get it back.

Do I sometimes want to sit back and play video games for hours? Of course; as human beings, we are drawn to that dopamine hit, those burts of feelgood hormones as we do something we enjoy. This is fine, in moderation. It is likely, however, that video games (and other vices) will always be there in plentiful supply. They will be there for those moments where you do need a break from your hard work and perserverence. Time, unfortunately, is not so kind. We either use it, or lose it.

What do you want to bring into your day? When evening comes and you are reflecting (as you should be) on what you have achieved, will you be proud of the progress you've made? We only have a set amount of days, sunrises and sunsets in which we can work hard and reap the rewards. Don't let it go to waste.

Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash