What Do You Have To Show For Your Years?
The Daily Stoic for December 21st, “What Do You Have To Show For Your Years?”.
“Many times an old man has no other evidence besides his age to prove he has lived a long time.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 3.8b
I’ve been alive for 38 years and 355 days. That’s 14234 days or 341.616 hours. Today’s daily stoic asks what do we have to show for the hours we’ve been alive. Not years spent in an office, not a pile of boxes in an attic.
What Do You Have To Show For Your Years?
Up until the beginning of this decade, I would have been that guy. Working on a job I didn’t enjoy, exchanging time for money, and with an attic full of boxes I hadn’t opened for years.
So I can certainly agree with today’s stoic meditation. When you live, instead of just killing time, time elongates.
I just feel sorry for not realizing before. I was 30 when I quit my job (after my trip to Iceland) and became a freelancer first, and entrepreneur later, and a digital nomad finally. I don’t know where I’m going to be in 5 years, or 10 years, and I can’t certainly say “Hey, I really made the most of my time”. But I have learned to value the things that matter.
You won’t find them in the attic, or in a garage, and definitely not in an office or
Conclusion
Today’s Daily Stoic, “What Do You Have To Show For Your Years?”, discusses how, when we see our lives in perspective, it’s not our job, the office, or the stuff we keep in boxes that matter. It’s the things we’ve experienced and enjoyed.
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