...tempus tantum nostrum est

'Omnia aliena sunt tempus tantum nostrum est.'

'Nothing is ours except our time.'

                  - Seneca, Epistulae Morales Liber 1.1, Lucilio suo salutem.

I'm currently reading Peter Drucker's 'The Effective Executive'. 

The author sounds like a greek philosopher of management in this book. The book isn't just for executives or for people at the top, it's for people who make decisions in the normal course of their work but have substantial effect on the performance of the whole organization. 

Chapter 2 of the book discusses the importance of time management. Here's something worth reflecting on:

'Time is also a unique resource. Of the other major resources, money is actually quite plentiful.

We long ago should have learned that it is the demand for capital, rather than the supply thereof, which sets the limit to economic growth and activity. People-- the third limiting resource-- one can hire, though one can rarely hire enough good people. But one cannot rent, hire, buy or otherwise obtain more time.

The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it and no marginal utility curve for it. Moreover, time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone for ever and will never come back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly short supply.

Time is totally irreplaceable. Within limits we can substitute one resource for another, copper for aluminum, for instance. We can substitute capital for human labour. We can use more knowledge or more brawn. But there is no substitute for time.'

Please excuse some economic jargons, but the paragraphs above have been clear enough to establish the great value of time, the fact that it is a limiting factor, that it is perishable, and that it is irreplaceable. 

One good question to ponder on: How do we spend time? 

The time we have isn't different from what other people have, still limiting, still perishable and irreplaceable. The difference lies in how people spend it.

caecus

I watched the film entitled "Into great silence", at the last part, it was an old blind monk

reflecting on how he has lived his life in faith. This just clearly supports the thought that physical sight or the ability to see is not an assurance of faith. Here's what the old monk said:

"No.Why be afraid of death?

It is the fate of all humans.

The closer one brings oneself to God,

the happier one is.

It is the end of our lives.

The closer one brings oneself to God,

the happier one is.

The faster one hurries to meet him.

One should have no fear of death.

On the contrary!

For us, it is a great joy

to find a father once again.

The past, the present,

these are human.

In God there is no past.

Solely the present prevails.

And when God sees us,

He always sees our entire life.

And because...He is an infinitely good being...

He eternally seeks our well-being

Therefore, there is no cause for worry

in any of the things which happen to us

I often thank God

that he let me be blinded.

I am sure that he let this happen for the good of 

my soul.

It is a pity that the world has lost all

sense of God.

It is a pity...

They have no reason to live anymore.

When you abolish the thought of God,

why should you go on living on this earth?

One must always part from the principle

that God is infinitely good,

and that all of his actions are in our best interest.

Because of this a Christian should always be happy,

never unhappy.

Because everything that happens is God's will,

and it only happens for the well-being of our soul.

Well, this is the most important.

God is infinitely good, almighty,

and he help us.

This is all one must do, and then one is happy."

Profound. When I watched the blind monk speak it was as if he has seen everything or it

was as if he has seen God. In the spiritual sense it's not impossible. It's easy to remember what was said before, 'they have eyes, but do not see. ears, but do not hear.' 

of fruits and resolutions

they have to light some firecrackers to drive away the bad spirits. loud bangs can't do that for spirits do not have ears and would even be celebrating.

vexations to the human soul. i don't know why people would spend several pesos for some noise even if there's crisis. who knows where the bad spirits go or what they do after those bangs?it's probably business as usual for them. 

people know that january is going to be lean after spending much, but people are ready to suffer just to celebrate the holidays. what could be noisier than pockets almost empty because of too much spending?

some round fruits for luck, for a prosperous year. i don't know how round fruits could make the year prosperous, i've never really seen how this works. but if it does, we would have been prosperous.all of the families who always do this out of tradition would have also been prosperous.we do this almost every year.same old round fruits.but we always arrive at the same outcome.we say that the year has been fair. gained some and lost some.

superficial, that's how we have been celebrating these events.we focus on the manner not the heart of the matter.

is it not clear that the matter or even the reason for these events is more than what we've been doing all along?