Time is the fire in which we all burn. Every second that passes by, we grow older. Slowly. Irreversibly. Inevitably. Eventually, time would gain the upper hand. Someday, we would all die.
As a matter of fact, at one point of our lives, we will find ourselves on the verge of death, gasping and fighting for our dear life. We hold on to our last breath because we are afraid to die. There is nothing we can do then but to cry in anguish over our pathetic condition.
Yet, death only tells us that we must live life now, in the moment --- that tomorrow is illusion and never comes. It tells us that it is not the quantity of our days, or hours, or years that matter, but rather the quality of the time spent. Every day is new. Every moment is fresh. Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance. Time is relative. It is ours, given freely to spend wisely or to squander idly, but never to be hoarded. Time past is gone and all the moaning will never bring it back.
Death also teaches us the impermanence of all things. All things change. All things die. To be attached to thing or people, both of which will surely vanish, can only bring despair, for eventually one is left with only a handful of dust or a frail memory. Life that is free of attachment lives in the moment and makes no demand that the moment last. Life's concern is not with the future but with the present. To wait for life is to love to wait, nothing more.
For some, the fear of dying may lead them to think that this earthly life is all there is. Thus, they satisfy themselves with doing what they want without any regard for others. However, try as they might they never seem to achieve complete happiness. Each acquisition leads to desire for procuration. More! More! More!
A vicious cycle, indeed. Alas, they fail to realize the emptiness of their actions. Only a fool would seek something infinite from the finite.
However, try as we might not to fall prey to this perennial hunger to have more, we still commit the same mistake. Especially in these troubled times, nothing matters to many of us except our own lives. Our only concern is anything that will make us happy. In our pursuit of happiness, however, we allow ourselves to fall into the snare of temptation and to be controlled by our worldly possessions believing that these are the only things we need to live. We search for what is earthly but ephemeral, not for what is heavenly but eternal. In the end, we cry out in desperation because despite accumulating earthly possessions, we still find our lives empty.
After all, death teaches us that in the long run nothing belongs to us. Even if we desire to form permanent attachments or possess, we in truth cannot. Things will break in spite of us. People will depart when it is their time no matter how loudly we protest.
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Written by: Swiss Wenger
Email: swisswenger09@gmail.com
