An unlikely ally.

I’m increasingly of the opinion that time is an ally.

Wait, wait! Hear me out. If the amount of time we had to do the things we’ve always wanted to do were endless, a never-ending stream of myriad chances, we really would have no urgency, no need to do it. Right? Time is our friend.

Time tells us that we need to get off our asses to do stuff about stuff, otherwise stuff won’t get done. Time taps us on the shoulder and points over there and says “bet that one thought they had more of me to do more of the things.” Then time gently chuckles, dust from their beard falling gently around our shoulders. Time tells us we need to go see those friends because, were time a slackwad who simply vacationed in Fiji drinking fruity umbrella drinks with not a care in the world, we would promise to see those friends. Tomorrow. The never-ending tomorrow that never arrives. Like the sign that advertises free beers. . . tomorrow.

Time gives us the freedom from an overabundance of choice.

Hold on! Don’t hang up the phone just yet, I’m just getting to my meaning. Or not. Time is tricky that way.

You see, we have a finite amount of time, an unknowable amount except in retrospect. Then we can count grandpa’s 46,458,542 minutes like so many grains of sand. So, knowing that our time ends, we get the chance to choose, of all the things to do in the universe, what things we’ll try to do. It narrows it down. As time passes, it narrows our choices for us, makes us better at the things we’ve already chosen to do. We don’t reach expert-level at anything without the benefit of time. Even young prodigies benefit from a different use of time.

Don’t get me started about how genius is a condition of early choice.

Another time. Anyway, while time passes, we earn our mastery of the things we’ve chosen and our alternate options narrow. This isn’t a bad thing. At least I’ve chosen not to see it as a bad thing. My leveling-up a design skill means that I’ll never get to the level of master concert pianist. My joy at improving a cooking skill means bye-bye any dreams of becoming an olympic swimmer.

We call it sacrifice and it’s only because of time that we have geniuses. It’s because of time that we have velcro. Tang. Kevlar. Time is the true hero, here.

So, as time passes and we make our choices, remember that we shouldn’t mourn the loss of “endless possibility", which I feel is a curse. Instead, embrace the thing you’ve chosen to spend your time on. Now. Time spent is never time wasted.