In Search Of Lost Time
Seneca on the shortness of life
The Roman Stoic Seneca wrote:
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it … when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death's final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing” (Seneca, On The Shortness of Life)
Seneca thought that if we feel that life is too short, then we have no one but ourselves to blame. There is plenty of time for most people to do the things that really matter, but they waste it pursuing the wrong things. If we used our time well, then we would realize that life is long enough to accomplish the things that bring us fulfillment.
There is a way of reading Seneca’s exhortation as morally objectionable. Was he not aware that some people are simply not as lucky as others, and that they actually do have less time through no fault of their own?
To read Seneca in this way is to miss the value in what he says. While there certainly are many people whose time is stolen from them through no fault of their own, Seneca’s message is directed at those who do have enough time, but place the blame on the shortness of life itself.
When we zoom out and look at our weekly schedules, it can often seem that there is no time for us to pursue our passions, start new hobbies, or simply spend quality time with loved ones. But if we zoom in, we are able to find many small moments everyday that we choose to fill with entertainment and distraction. Is it our fault? Maybe. Every corporation in the world is trying their hardest to get you to pay attention to what they want, rather than what matters most. We have to be aware of this, and choose our own path. We have to search for lost time.