Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Economies of Time

Do you ever think about how every morning you’re waking up a day closer to death?
I’m not trying to be morbid, or even depressing.  The inevitability of life’s termination surely provides enough fodder for angsty middle-school philosophers, but if educated adults allow ourselves to suffer the same pitfalls, then clearly the vast fortunes we pissed away on higher education have failed us.
So, rather than bemoan the fact we all must die, let’s look at the positives: we all have some number of days left to live.  We can’t know the number, so lets call it x.  Tomorrow, we’re at x-1.
What does that mean for day “x-1”?  Well, it’s supply and demand.  Let’s call demand for life constant here, foregoing the examples of those who choose to take their own.  Supply has just gone down, which pushes the price or value of the remaining days up incrementally.
So take today, it’s a Tuesday and because it’s around 9:30am most of my acquaintances will have pulled themselves from their beds several hours ago, put on presentable clothes and commuted to where they sit, now, at a desk.  Those who were spared such routine are likely sound asleep for the next few hours, until their alarms rouse them toward uniforms and labor.
In a world where every day of your life is more precious, is this the right behavior?  Doesn’t it leave a bitter taste that today’s toil is incrementally more wasteful than yesterdays?
Look around.  Are you happy? Are you fulfilled?  Is this what you want?
Say you wanted something that wasn’t in your current realm of physical experience.  I don’t know, you want to see Morocco or surf in Costa Rica, maybe it's as simple as bringing someone you care about further into your life.  Every day you’re missing a bit more of your chance, and every day the cost of your inaction grows.  This is your life, and every second is more valuable than the last.  Now I don’t even know if this is a pep-talk for you or for me, but it stands to reason that if you want something, you ought to say “fuck it” and just go do it.

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