The Formula for a Beautiful Life: Time

Time matters a lot.
It has always mattered a lot, throughout the ages.
But have you noticed a difference in the way we perceive time in today's world?
We view it as something that's constantly slipping out of our grasp.
Something too much but too little at the same time.
But what if I told you it's exactly right?
It's not about time being 'too little' or 'too much'.
It's about how you value it. 
"But I do value time, time doesn't value me!"
If that sounds like you, hear me out:
The way you 'value' time is by treating it like a nuisance.
Like a child who won't stop crying.
You shove iPads in their faces and tell them to watch Cocomelon.
Instead of engaging with them and developing a proper bond.
Time isn't just a continued procession of existence, of life.
Time is how we experience life—fleeting, precious, and revealing of our values and identity as a whole

I'll start with the root of the problem.

"Why does every day feel the same?"

But that's the thing—
There is beauty in the monotony.

"When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day the sun rises,”

— Paulo Coelho (from 'The Alchemist')
There will always be the tiniest of differences that make the 'monotony' worth living.
That gives each moment its individuality.
Sometimes, those differences will be easily visible.
Other times, they won't.
Heard of the butterfly effect?
That applies here too.
The smallest things cause the biggest outcomes.
Every little moment can give you lots of joy.

It's not that every day is the same.
You just aren't living every day deliberately.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

—Henry David Thoreau (from his seminal work, Walden)

This encapsulates Thoreau's philosophy of purposeful living: intentional, avoiding distractions, and living deeply to understand the true essence of life and experience its richness.
'Living deliberately' is not about following a rigid, long-term plan—
It's about being definite about every small moment.
Savoring the present and accepting life's messy, unpredictable nature.

"We would live deliberately, sucking out all the marrow of life, no matter how messy it gets".  

This saying by Thoreau further captures the true essence of life.
Life is beautiful.
It is the essence of a spiritual being.
Even its messiest bits are absolutely ethereal.

Spending time on the messiest bits is not 'wasting time'.
Let's define what wasting time actually is.
Wasting time isn't doing something 'unproductive' or 'bad'.
Wasting time is not learning something new from that.
Wasting time is not letting every moment have its own individuality.
Wasting time is choosing to selectively suck out the marrow of life.
Every era, every moment, is its own bubble in time.
A star amongst the others.
While you formulate more.
Every moment will inspire many more.
Give birth to many more.
You are incapable of wasting time because each moment in life has led you to the person you are today.
You get to choose what comes next.
And it's fine if things don't go according to plan.
If you fail to live in the present.
Remember, you are on your own path.
There are no right or wrong moments, so long as you make sure each moment is meaningful.
So long as you know each moment is meaningful.
And 'meaningful' doesn't mean being purposeful.
Sometimes you'll be lost.
Sometimes you'll know this is exactly where you want to be.
But either way, living the moment—tasting it like you'll never be able to again (because you never actually will)—is the only true way to value time.
Choosing to accept the moments that have happened in the past, and letting them be a part of your journey, no matter how messy, is truly valuing time.

The reason why valuing time matters is because...
Our time in this world is a sea we'll be pulled out of after death.
The amount of time we can use is limited.
So will you choose to embrace this sea of time?
To enjoy the sight of the moonglades and sunglades, the many marvelous sights the sea has to offer—
Especially with its hardships?
Or will you choose to do the opposite?
And make sure you spend your life fighting the hardships instead of embracing them as a part of its beauty?

"Memento mori."

This is an artistic symbol acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death.
There must be a balance between living life long-term and short-term.
Do not live life like there is no tomorrow.
Do not live life like there is a tomorrow.
Enjoy every moment, even if it isn't in your preferred situation.
Each era, each moment has its own aura.
Give them their own space.
Float in it. 

This is why rushing—living every moment like there won't be another—kills growth. 

Rushing is not savoring every moment.
Rushing is trying to get to the end as soon as possible.
Not reflecting on why you had to rush in the first place, the things you're missing because you're rushing too fast.
It's quantity over quality.
It's like driving to get to a location quickly and not looking out the window to see where you're going.
You're going to screw up and get there later.
Plus, you won't enjoy the journey that actually makes it worth it.
Similarly, living every moment like there will be another kills growth too.
Because you assume you have all the time in the world.
You don't.
One day, your existence on this earth will end.
So, it's important to make sure that you spend every moment meaningfully.

"Good things take time, as they should. We shouldn't expect good things to happen overnight. Actually, getting something too easily or too soon can cheapen the outcome."

— John Wooden (a basketball coach)
The key rule is this:
live every moment knowing that if you died on the spot, you'd be at peace.
live every moment knowing that if you didn't die on the spot, you'd be at peace when you do.

I read a quote once that was supposed to make hard times seem passable.

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."

 —Unknown

But the thing is, just because the roads you travel are difficult, doesn't mean they can't be beautiful.
Why are you trying to make them passable?
Oftentimes, what you perceive as 'difficult' is simply just complex.
You need to embrace that complexity.
Seek joy and awe in it.
Like admiring every glistening string of an intricate spider web.
Live deliberately.

Ultimately, time is a constant that will keep moving forward forever.
It won't ever stop.
If you feel like you're constantly running and are absolutely exhausted...
Then stop.
Take a deep breath.
And relax.
Stroll through life.
Routine is great, but what's the point of it if there's no novelty to it every time?
As somebody who also loses sight of the actual meaning behind life by chasing deadlines and cramming activities into time slots, I've learned that sometimes, you've just got to let go and take it one step at a time instead of worrying about the grand scheme of things.
The grand scheme of things will take care of itself.
But only if you actually start taking care of every issue, one step at a time.
Take just another step through the garden of life.
Enjoy just another stroke cycle through the sea of time.
Quality over quantity.
What's the point of solving all your issues if you solved them without quality?
It's better to solve some of your issues with quality.
It's better to build a strong house slowly rather than a weak house quickly.
The grand scheme of things is something too vast for you to comprehend yourself.
Even if that grand scheme is your life itself.
Life is too profound to be boxed into something comprehensible.
So maybe... embrace the chaos.
Don't waste your time trying to make sense of it.
Order out of chaos isn't organizing the chaos—
It's being able to make sense of it in its rawest form.
Even if you can't explain it.
It's just that intuitive feeling of everything making sense.

In the end, the sea of time is what keeps moving you through the garden of life.
The thing is, it's not like running through life is a bad thing.
You can totally do that, you just need to make sure you enjoy the feel of the wind on your face at the same time.
You can walk very slowly through the garden of life, too, enjoying the sights.
It's all about walking through this garden, embracing the flow of time, in a way that feels true to you.
In a way that makes the movement worth it.