Time is Life

How to manage your time wisely

Time is life. It is a finite source that seems infinite. 

When lived or wasted, time cannot be recovered. 

Time is the most valuable gift you and I will ever have, a gift that has a pulse in each breath.

It has been said that time is money. 

Neither rich nor poor can sell or buy it. Some may profit off of time, and while money can make life lighter, happier, and more care-free, you cannot buy more time. 

In the ancient traditions, the sages teach that there are ways to make your life longer.

An old Buddhist Master I had used to say that we are all born with a certain number of breaths.

If you breathe fast, you burn out your breaths faster, shortening your life, your days, and therefore, your time.  

According to this Buddhist Master, though, if you breathe deep and long, you stretch your life, making it longer.

Of course, in many old traditions, we believe that life never ends, but here we are referring to life in flesh and blood.

Another teacher told me that you and I have our days numbered, which sounded too fatalistic to me because if he was right, we wouldn’t have any influence over our lives.

That would mean that if you eat well or eat poorly, you would die on the same day. 

That would mean that if you smoke and drink, if you do insane things, you would die on the same day as if you had chosen a life of frugality and health. 

“There must be a relativity, there must be a way that you can impact your life,” I thought.  

Among all the lessons I’ve learned about the  connection between Time and Life, there is one that still strikes directly to my heart: we might be born with our days numbered, but how we live our lives, how we manage our time, influences how many breaths you and I have.

Managing Your Time Wisely

Managing your time is an effective way to ensure each second, each minute, and each breath account for meaning and understanding. In this way, you can make your life longer. 

Being present is one way to do this. When you focus on things that are important, when you are present, you probably feel stronger, experience more vitality. 

This happens because you save your energy, your time. You value and honor your time, your energy and your Life.

When you steal time from others, you steal time from yourself.

You should be cautious to never steal time from others by telling untruths (big or small), creating confusion, and wasting time or energy. 

There are many meditations that can help you with that.
Today I will share some easy ways to avoid stealing time from others:

• When you are running late, tell those waiting on you that you are running late, so the other person can decide what they will do with their time, their life. 
• Take responsibility. If you made a mistake, professionally or personally, do not waste your time and the other persons’ time creating false stories. Just go straightforward to the accountability, assuming what is your responsibility and bring a solution to the problem. 
• It is important to be clear. Saying ‘no’ or a ‘yes’ in a kind way is good. 
  When you practice this, you might be surprised by how such a simple habit can be so invigorating. 

Same way, it is crucial to not let others steal your time, your life

As a valuable, impalpable good, one way to save your time is to not let others steal it from you with meaningless stories, lies, and unnecessary drama. 

• Choose what places you want to be. 
• Be present and stay briefly when in places you do not want to be. 
• Choose what type of conversation you want to engage with and how you want to be part of any conversation. 
• Remember, silence also speaks. 
• Be clear to yourself about what your healthy boundaries are.  
• When someone trespasses your healthy boundaries, communicate this right away. 
• Be clear, be kind.  When you fail to, apologize, and keep practicing it.  

When you let someone steal your time, you allow your presence to be taken away from the people you love.

This happens when you allow yourself and your breaths to be carried away unnecessarily. It can be exactly the time you could be spending with your beloved ones, or with yourself, doing something more meaningful. 

Not letting others steal your time is a refined task that we have long forgotten. 

Many years ago, my Kabbalist Master and friend reminded me about it. Just in time to literally save my life. 

But that is a story for another time. 

Love and blessings for a long, fruitful Life,