Carpe diem! Live your life, they say. Enjoy new experiences, they say. But how can we do all of this in such a short time? Are we afraid of the future or of the events that time brings?
One day has 24 hours which means 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. All of us wonder if that is enough, don't we? Is that enough to do all the things we want to do in order to have unforgettable memories and no regrets?
First, were those the questions that Kronos, the god of time, asked himself? Probably not. Back then, the gods were too busy getting involved in the mortals’ drama and creating their own series of The Bachelor or Love is Blind. I have to admit that I am a geek when it comes to ancient mythology.
For my readers who enjoy other fields of history: I am sure no one asked the astronomer Pope Gregory XIII if he ever thought about what he was doing with his time on a Friday night when he made the calendar. Neither to Caesar or Sosigenes of Alexandria when the General was too busy to conquer and expand his empire. I mean, it was pretty obvious he could be found on the weekends with a bunch of Greek soldiers at the first tavern that allowed “only friendly meetings”.
Second, I am sure we all want to live our life to the fullest, so we tend to focus on our future. Still, we should take a moment for ourselves and look around because if we trully look around us, we can see that this society is becoming more and more dull.
Make this experiment: go to a caffe on your own and take a look at your surroundings. You’ll notice that everyone around you is focused on their own laptop, on their own business, on their own bad day because in this society everyone is concerned about recognition. That’s fine because that's human nature, that’s all humans will ever be.
“Why?” you may ask. Because we want to be remembered. “But what about the time?” Is time spent on a life-long dream worth it? What is the real meaning of leaving your life to the fullest?
Honestly, I would love to know the answer to these questions, but that’s the fun thing about time: everything is uncertain. It would be amazing to be able to travel back and forth in time, wouldn’t it? Imagine all the things we could do: join one of king Arthur’s quests, have a beer with Napoleon and go for a boys night out with Hitler and Lenin.
Still, would it be enough to have all the Infinity Stones in your hand? Not even the Time Stone could change the fact that Stephen Strange wasn’t ready to face the future. However, as the Ancient One said, “No one ever is. We don’t get to choose our time.”
We are never ready to face the future, we only adapt to the circumstances, some faster than the others. When we understand that, we’ll finally accept that there is no deadline, no rush, no time limit to start doing certain things. Everyone lives in their own time.
Now we are getting closer to my point. We travelled through the past and future, but we never tackled the present, which leads me to my third point: vive in momento. That’s the secret! We should live in the present, live every experience to the fullest and enjoy the time that we have. If you ever thought of painting a masterpiece, then do that! Did you ever want to climb Mount Everest? Then make time for it!
It might look challenging at first. You might start doubting yourself. You might wonder if you have all the skills you need orwhether you are good enough. However, with time and practise these thoughts will fade. I know how much of a struggle it is to find the present unbearable. That’s why instead of fearing the future, we should focus on the abilities we can improve now, on the version of us that exists in this moment. So let’s stop thinking about the top of the mountain and focus on each step on our path to get there.
To conclude, my last words would be for me: Live the moment, live exactly how you want and let time be a loyal companion in your journey.
by Theodora-Maria Mrejeru
