Time is The Enemy

Persistent. Relentless. Ceaseless. Time never quits. I’m not necessarily speaking of “time” in the sense of our clocks and calendars (although they’re an easy way to keep track of it) but, more so the continual movements of heavenly bodies and their effects on all forms of life on this planet. Essentially, even if you don’t use clocks or calendars, your food will rot, your pets and relatives will die, and you yourself will fade into non-existence. Time is the great equalizer.

Everyone succumbs to time. It is as if the Creator made his own wind-up toys, gave us a limited number of cranks and then let us go. All of us moving around rapidly and with much action and excitement, but finally slowing and eventually falling down without the proper energy and momentum.

Knowing that our time is limited, you would think that most people would make the most of it. But it’s far from the case (there are clearly exceptions to the rule, but they are few and far between). Most people in the modern world spend their days on screens; 9+ hours a day. Computers, TV’s, Smartphones, Video games…just staring and interacting with screens.

This statistic does not only apply to young adults, no, everyone from 13-85 is spending 9 hours or more a day on screens (and this isn’t counting school/homework). We’ve become a society that spends most of its time inside. A species that came from the wilderness now spends most of its time indoors, staring at screens. “Sad” does not begin to describe our current situation.

So, if we choose not to look at screens for a superfluous amount of time every day, then how do we spend our time? Well, humans didn’t always have screens, and certainly didn’t always have the internet…crazy to even imagine, right? I am a proponent for technology as long as it used strategically and for the greater good of mankind, but all too often it is used as the easiest way to achieve a dopamine high and an escape from reality.

You might be asking…”so, then, what do we do instead?” Read. You fools. Read for as many hours a day as you can. If it’s on a screen, so be it, as long as you are becoming a more intellectually evolved human being. Read history, philosophy, classic novels…anything that opens your world and your perspective and enlightens you. That, or you could always play video games until you get carpal tunnel, and be more informed about your favorite sports team or celebrity, or “news” (all mindless dribble keeping you tricked into thinking you have a say or are making an impact).

Newsflash. You’re not on the team, You don’t get paid a salary. You don’t call plays. You don’t play.  You don’t even tape ankles or maintain the field. “We won on Sunday.” “We”? Being a fan of something doesn’t make you a part of the organization. Your viewership and purchase of tickets and merchandise might fuel the organization but “your” team doesn’t have you on the payroll or the roster.

The same can be said for people who obsess over celebrities. Your favorite celebrity doesn’t know who you are. Never will. Living vicariously through them, and fueling their extravagant lifestyle seems worth it though…right? Staying dumb, broke, and illegitimate seems like a good plan. Don’t get me started on people who obsess over the news and/or politics. If you don’t understand that politicians in this day and age are purely the government’s form of celebrity, you need to wake up and smell the coffee.

The “news”…gotta watch the news or you’ll be uninformed. You won’t hear about the people who died, the political gossip, or the mindless fearmongering bullshit that’s shoved down your gullet. It honestly makes me sick to think about. You guys aren’t worried about the last terrorist cell 15,000 miles away in a third-world country? No worries, here’s a new one. We changed the name and the country of origin, but it’s all the same to you. Those people in the Middle East are going to bring down ‘Merica. We need to wipe them off the face of the earth before they terrorize our country.

Anyway, I only half-heartedly apologize for the rant. Most people are no more intelligent, properly informed, well-read, or well-educated than the average barnyard animal. Now, since we will inevitably succumb to time’s chokehold, how do we spend our time? Learn. Learn as much as you can about yourself and the world around you. And then teach others when you are comfortable with your level of understanding. A few well-informed capable citizens are better than none.

Be active. Go outside. Learn new skills. Create. Interact in person. Explore nature. Do everything that the 99% of people don’t do. Be the best possible version of yourself. Or, I guess you could sit around and watch all of the people who have achieved their goals and are living the life that they want to live? Pretty much the same thing, right? Make the most of the time that you are given on this planet.

Not only could it end at any moment, but, you know eventually, it is bound to cease. With that knowledge, make the most of every moment. That’s really all you can do in order to live a noble life. Give it your absolute best effort, so that you may not have any regrets on your deathbed when Father Time comes to dissolve you back into the ethereal mixture from whence you came.