“The trouble is, you think you have time.” This quote often related to Buddha was actually written by Jack Kornfield, in Buddha’s Little Instruction Book. The quote means that, we put off important things, assuming that we can do them later. But there may not be any “later.” Life is short; so make good use of it.
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Recognizing that our time here is brief can help us appreciate life and see what the important things are. “Life is short; make good use of it.” – When people hear this they sometimes think it means “life is short, have as much fun as possible.” But if you really take on board how brief our time here is, you’re also forced to recognize what’s truly most valuable.
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When we talk about time, we talk about having an abundance of time. We say things like; “there’s still plenty of time to do that”, or “there’s still time for this”. We think we have plenty of time in life when we actually don’t have very much at all. In fact, time is one of those resources that are so scarce and so finite that it’s the most precious commodity in the world. It’s a commodity that can’t be bought or sold or saved or invested. You only get that time once, no matter how much you think you are saving. And as soon as it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
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So here’s the question. How much time do we really have?
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Since we think we have so much time, what makes it feel like we have an abundance of it when there’s only so much of this precious resource to go around? The truth? Time speeds up as you grow older. It truly does. When you’re younger it seems like there’s just so much time to do all the things you want to do in life. It also feels like time moves incredibly slowly. Which it does. At the time.
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Life can be unpredictable. Everyone you see today—this may be your last encounter. And maybe you should behave as if it was. What last impression, what last words, would you like them to hear from you, should either of you die tomorrow?
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Over the years, I’ve realized that there is one thing holding me back from living the life I know I was meant to live. And I can only describe it with one word…… FEAR. For a big part of my life, I was always so afraid of what other people thought about me. I was afraid of their opinions and what they might think. And that feeling caused many problems…… But over the years, as I got older, you know what? Life is too short to care.