Time is a well-known universal treasure owned by all. Also, almost everyone now knows the preciousness of time, at least in theory. And anyone could preach a compelling sermon or deliver a motivational lecture about how time is life, and how it is important for everyone to take it seriously if they intend to achieve anything worthwhile in life.
Where are we now?
Yet, the concept of time remains largely misunderstood and mismanaged. Till today, you still spot people who are mentally aware of the importance of time carelessly whiling away time. And you are left wondering how difficult translating knowledge into practice. How humans after millions of years of evolving are still unable to implement simple things that will noticeably improve the quality of their lives.
You wonder how being comfortable in misery is still a welcome option and how far folks will go to satiate themselves because of wantonness even when they could tell you at that same time how dangerous their action is.
Where are we going?
Are we learning as a species? If so, at what rate are we growing? Or is this inability to recognise obvious pitfalls and time-wasting endeavours a consequence of how fast we are growing as a people?. Can we as a species collectively beat this? If yes, then what? What door would we open by overcoming this challenge? Is there an end in view?
We might probably never find an answer to these questions, or we just might. We might be lucky that some might be answered during our lifetime or so far in the future that they would not be as significant when the answers finally come up.
Where should we be?
Regardless, what behoves us is to live in the now. Instead of focusing on the mundane, the fleeting, the unknown future, the chaos beyond our control… It would be more productive to use our rational mind. Rather than tuning in to our endless desires, we should rather focus on the things that advance us, that answers the questions about where we are going and how we can get there.
Because daily, life asks us what our purpose is. And daily, our answers are embedded in those things that we give our time to, be it the fleeting or the unknown. Or the relevant. The things that actually improve us. Because that is the only justification that we have knowledge of the importance of time. That is the only explicit answer to those questions we might never be able to answer as a species.