Time Is Priceless

We spend much of our lives thinking about money: how to earn it, save it, invest it and, eventually, how to spend it. If we lose money, there’s always the possibility of earning it back. Time is different. Each of us is given an unknown amount, and before we know it, a day, an hour or even a moment has passed, time that can never be recovered. Perhaps that makes time the most valuable asset we’ll ever possess, and the one we should be most careful about how we spend.

In Mark Sullivan’s All the Glimmering Stars, I came across a passage that stopped me: “time will seem to slow and expand.” It reminded me of something I wrote years ago in a poem called The Majesty of Time. Perhaps the great paradox of time is that we spend so much of our lives rushing to make the most of it, when slowing down may be what allows us to experience each moment more fully.

Sullivan describes “Rush” as a voice that tells us to keep moving and striving, even when the immediate need to do so has passed. While the circumstances in the novel are vastly different from mine, I recognized something in that voice. For much of my working life, I was always looking toward the next job, the next customer and the next problem that needed solving. Running a business meant there was always something more to do. At the time, I thought I was making the most of my time. Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether I was simply rushing through it.

We do something similar with money. We spend decades accumulating it, often telling ourselves that someday we’ll have enough and then we’ll slow down. We save for retirement so that one day we’ll have the freedom to spend our time as we choose. But there’s an irony in sacrificing too much of today’s time in pursuit of enough money to enjoy tomorrow’s.

Retirement has changed my relationship with time. There are fewer deadlines and fewer reasons to rush. I have more freedom to decide how I spend my days, but I’m also more conscious that the number of those days is finite. The more conscious we become of time running out, the temptation may be to hurry, but perhaps that’s precisely when we should slow down.

When we’re young, money seems scarce and time seems plentiful. As we grow older, we may discover the equation has reversed.

The time we have shouldn’t be taken for granted. Each moment can be treasured and tucked away as a memory, something to look back on as a reflection of a life gone by.

Time also allows us to heal from sadness and defeat. It can help heal a broken heart and repair a damaged soul. We don’t forget our sorrows, but with time we can learn to give them their place without allowing them to crowd out the goodness that remains in life.

And perhaps the best use of our time is to share it with others: to bring joy, love and laughter to those around us. Money can leave an inheritance, but time spent with another person leaves a different kind of legacy: memories of conversations, experiences and ordinary moments that can remain long after we’re gone.

Our time is a valuable asset, so we should treat it with care. Embrace each moment and remember those who made a difference in your life. Money can be earned again. Time cannot.

So walk your life to the end, in the majesty of time.