Time.

Time, it seems, is something we as humans can never have enough of. We throw it away without realizing we cannot ever get it back. Time is infinite, yet determined. It goes on forever, but ends in less than a blink of an eye. With time, we see it as something we can barter with. We cannot. There is no trading, no replacing and no holding onto it as though we can control it. Time will slip through our fingers and leave us wondering where it went.

Time, as the Oxford Dictionary defines, is the “indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.” In this instance, time refers to travel through time and space. This can also take on the meaning of time as an indefinite period. Jet lag in travelers comes to mind when thinking about this definition. Watching my favorite television show, "Cosmos" always makes me feel like I am traveling through the stars and I experience a sort of out of body trip through the universe. A sense of time-warp happens to people when travelling through various time zones. I remember taking a trip to Texas, and though I did not fly, I felt out of sorts as I traveled through each state. Things did not look the same as they did in Ohio and it made me feel like I was in another time. This is a more literal sense of time. But what else about time has been taken for granted or misunderstood by humans can we learn?

History. History is time past. Literature uses the phrases “during the Renaissance era” or “during the time of the Crusades.” Phrases like these make references to time past. These are but periods in time of recent history. What about time during the “age of the dinosaurs?” Or how about “during the first Ice Age?” There were several periods of time in each. I was always curious about how life was during these various “ages.” Having a curious mind as a child, I would read anything I could get my hands on about various “ages” in time. It would make me think about the following questions. Who determines when these times stop and when they start? Scientists? Scholars? Or time itself?

According to www.stratigraphy.org, the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which is the largest scientific body in the International Union of Geographical Sciences or IUGS, determines the periods of eras, epochs, and stages of time. They are the ones that make up the charts that include the various eras of time throughout history such as the Paleozoic, Hadean, and other eras. IUGS are the ones that set the standard for the history of time on Earth. From my basic knowledge of ancient civilizations such as the Mayans and Sumerians, they have developed the passage of days and years through observations of the stars and planets. The Mayan calendar is a much talked about calendar. At one point in very recent history, many thought the world was going to end due to the Mayan calendar and the prediction of cataclysmic events that were thought would destroy the Earth.

Most people see time as a way to keep track of minutes, hours, days and years. Certainly in such a busy world this is important for humans. Time is how we keep track of birthdays, holidays, and other special events. Time is how we earn our paychecks. We must “punch the clock.” It is how we educate children at a determined location set forth for a specific amount of hours a day during a week for a set number of months in a year. Humans have this insatiable need to keep track of time. We fear the loss of it, but throw it away so easily. I always sleep in, never concerned about wasting the time in the morning where I could get things done. I like sleep and feel that this is time well spent, not realizing I can sleep when I am dead. I had heard that phrase from an old boss. He was always energetic and got many things done in a day because he did not sleep much. I asked him how he could manage to do so much in a day and he told me it was because he didn’t require a lot of sleep. On the other hand, he was always running from meeting to meeting trying to make deadlines and appointments.

This is the crux of keeping time tracked. Humans get so hung up on things that are, in the grand scheme of things, not that important. We have to be here. We have to be there. “Oh no! We are late!” Yet, we have no problem wasting time on things that do not matter. Making sure all the laundry is caught up. Why should I do that when there are clean clothes in the drawers of mine and my kids’ dressers? Do I always have to have every bit of laundry in the house done? Not really. It is a waste of time. Getting the dishes done does not matter when my kids want to play with me. They will only be little for a short time. Those dishes can wait. Break ups and arguments. People who would not walk through a puddle to help someone. Working to keep a relationship or friendship that is over and feelings are no longer there for one person.

I recently lost my best friend. No, he didn’t die, however, he just stopped talking to me eight months ago over something stupid. I wasted so much time trying to figure out why. What had I done wrong? In the end, it doesn’t matter. I know I did nothing wrong and I needed to stop beating myself up. It wasn’t going to change anything and I knew I couldn’t get back all the time I wasted trying to get him to talk to me. These things and many others we waste time on not realizing they are nothing more than robbing us of time. Once we waste time on things that should be let go, that time cannot be given back, and there is no bartering for more.

Humans go through their life wasting precious time only to beg for more near the end of their life. The “get religion” and ask for forgiveness as though suddenly becoming religious we ensure a longer life. It may, according to one’s religion, afford them everlasting life in the hereafter, but it will not change how much time they get here on earth. I remember being at a funeral and the lady begging for God to bring back her husband. She was crying and asking for more time. I remember thinking that her husband was dead and could not be brought back, so why wasn’t she thanking her God for the time she had had with him? It was that loss that set her in motion to begging and pleading for more time. She wasn’t ever a religious woman to begin with. It was only that loss that she started being religious and trying to get her husband back. We also waste time on pointless words, actions of stupidity, worrying, being fearful, anxious, hateful, and a myriad of other emotions that not only rob us of time but drain the person as well. All these emotions we cling to as though they are important somehow when they are not and never will be.

I remember a time when the actions and words of others greatly affected how much time I spent worrying about what others thought of me. It wasn’t until much later, when I was an adult, that I realized it does not matter what other people say or do or how they think. It shouldn’t matter to me what people think of me. The more time I wasted worrying about what people thought, the less I was living. I was robbing myself of time to live. I always felt drained after crying or worrying about what someone had said to me at school or on the street. In the end, as an adult, when I came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter, these words and actions, then I became happier and was actually living.

Time heals all. I have heard this before. So have many others. This is a subterfuge told to people to comfort those with broken hearts and broken bodies. Time does not heal all. The scars are still there, some unseen, but still there. The hurts may recede, however, the memory remains. Whether one suffers the loss of a loved one, a break-up, of any relationship, or a physical hurt, the memory is still there. One truly never forgets that loss or that hurt. Scars are healed, wounds yes, very much so, but time did not heal them. The person who was hurt did through their own determination to persevere and go on did. I have been hurt so many times, whether it was an actual physical hurt or an emotional one. It always took my will and my determination to get over it. Time didn’t make things better. My determination to be happy was how I healed. Time just passed while I did the healing.

There is nothing tangible about time. We cannot touch it or wrap ourselves in it to cover the pain of a loss or to mask a painful memory. We simply have to move on and remember that there is always tomorrow and the next day and the next to get on with living. Time is about appreciating what you have before it is gone. As was the case with my friend. I have to appreciate all the good memories and that will balance out the hurt I felt when they walked away without a word. I have ten years of wonderful memories, of time spent with the most wonderful person I had ever had the pleasure of knowing beyond my children. That takes some of the pain away. It warms my heart and lets me live again, instead of wasting time trying to figure out what went wrong.

Humans cannot regain time wasted, however, we can make the most of the time we have left. Don’t let fears, anxieties, and bad relationships waste anymore of your time. Live in each moment. Do what makes you happy as long as you aren’t hurting others. Travel. See the world and experience all its various wonders. Don’t waste time on trivial pursuits when you could be changing the world. Be inspiring. Throw out the watches and just live in each moment and enjoy the little things. It is the little things that bring the most happiness. A smile here or there, a wave of the hand, a weekend camping with friends. These are important and let you know you are alive. Be creative and never fear you are not where you should be at a certain point in your life. Stop worrying about things that do not matter at the end of the day. Realize there is more to life than a clock. Remember though, there isn’t much time!