I have to admit first that, especially for the last 21 years, it’s possible that I have been overly focused on the concept of ‘wasting time’.
From the ages of 21 to 42, ‘being efficient, ensuring the correct order of operations, and minimizing idle time’ were major themes of mine.
For example, I loathe standing on the checkout lines without a book.
And so on.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this view of time, unless it’s not serving me (or you).
It’s important to periodically make sure that all of the things you’re doing are in fact still serving you, because over time, they may not be.
So I asked myself: have I been so focused on ‘not wasting time’ because I feel like, to some degree, I ‘wasted’ a good portion of my first 21 years on this planet?
That position is a bit harsh, because everyone has stuff that they need to go through in order to grow, and come out the other side.
But it holds some validity. Once I ‘woke up’ to the fact that life was, very much, in fact worth living, then I immediately felt a burning desire to get going with … living.
And so, I think, as usual, that it’s a bit of both.
We most definitely have a finite numbers of minutes on this planet, and each one is precious.
And, at the same time, the condition of being human is not one that is within our control. Thus, we mustn’t try too hard to control it, or tell ourselves that we’ve sinned if we were lazy or idle for three minutes.
We must find the balance that rings true in our own hearts.
Matt Fried 