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December    9th

SPENDTHRIFTS    OF  TIME

“Were   all the geniuses    of  history to  focus   on  this    single  theme,  they    could   never   fully   express their

bafflement  at  the darkness    of  the human   mind.   No  person  would   give    up  even    an  inch    of  their

estate, and the slightest   dispute with    a   neighbor    can mean    hell    to  pay;    yet we  easily  let others

encroach    on  our lives—worse,    we  often   pave    the way for those   who will    take    it  over.   No

person  hands   out their   money   to  passersby,  but to  how many    do  each    of  us  hand    out our lives!

We’re   tight-fisted    with    property    and money,  yet think   too little  of  wasting time,   the one thing

about   which   we  should  all be  the toughest    misers.”

—SENECA,    ON  THE BREVITY OF  LIFE,   3.1–2

oday there will be endless interruptions: phone calls, emails, visitors, unexpected events. Booker T.
Washington observed that “the number of people who stand ready to consume one’s time, to no
purpose, is almost countless.”
A philosopher, on the other hand, knows that their default state should be one of reflection and inner
awareness. This is why they so diligently protect their personal space and thoughts from the intrusions of
the world. They know that a few minutes of contemplation are worth more than any meeting or report.
They also know how little time we’re actually given in life—and how quickly our stores can be depleted.
Seneca reminds us that while we might be good at protecting our physical property, we are far too lax
at enforcing our mental boundaries. Property can be regained; there is quite a bit of it out there—some of
it still untouched by man. But time? Time is our most irreplaceable asset—we cannot buy more of it. We
can only strive to waste as little as possible.