It is a mistake to think that time is passing. Time doesn't pass. The time is here until the world ends. It is you who is leaving. You don't waste time. Time is infinite. You waste yourself. You are finite. It is you who grow old and die. Not time. So make better use of it. Focus on the gifts and talents God gave you and do not be envious of the blessings He gave to others…” — Anonymous
The title is partially taken from Todd Henry's excellent book titled 'Die Vacuum: Unleash Your Best Work Every day'. He argues that we should have a long-term vision for our lives, but we should work toward that vision every day. As? Taking steps daily to create a body of work that we can be proud of at the end of our lives. This book resonated deeply with me when I first read it and I highly recommend it.
There are some facts that we all naturally like to avoid or dismiss from our consciousness. First, none of us will leave this life alive. Each of us who are alive today will not live forever. We all have a manufacturing date (our date of birth) as well as an expiration date (our date of death). While we all know and often must write our date of birth separately on various forms, we are happily unaware of our terminal dates until it reaches us. Therefore, at no point can we say with certainty that we have “xyz” numbers of days, weeks or years left.
Secondly, and derived from the above, is having a vision of what we want our life to be. If we knew that someone was going to record in great detail and post for all the world to see, how we spent the next 24 hours as a representative reflection of our life, we would pay attention to make sure we showed a “perfect” 24 hours. . Therefore, Todd Henry encourages us to try to unleash our best potential every day we are alive. This helps us avoid procrastination.
Thirdly, each and every one of us is unique and different. There will never be two human beings in history, or in the future, who will have the same fingerprints. Not even identical twins. So if we are all uniquely different, it implies that we all have something special to contribute to humanity, as long as we are alive.
The great challenge for all of us is to make a personal reflection and answer the questions: What is special about me? What do I have talent for? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What are those things that come naturally to me and make me happy?
It is crucial that we understand ourselves and achieve inner peace with who we are. Knowing yourself is the starting point towards personal growth and development. Conduct a SWOT analysis that is honest and objective. If you have objective friends, spouse, or close siblings, they can also help you review and critique it.
Thereafter, make plans for the direction you would like your life to take in the short, medium, and ultimately long term. The big picture is to ensure that we die empty, void of all the goodness, creativity and potentials we have been blessed with, and ultimately leaving the world a better place than we knew it.
Conclusion
The traditions of welcoming a new year must necessarily involve looking back and gratitude for everything that went well in the outgoing year, including the fact that we are alive. And then a hopeful and optimistic outlook for the coming year that is based on a pragmatic understanding of our strengths and limitations. Every day we wake up and breathe, we need to be truly ALIVE. Enjoy spending quality time with family, friends and colleagues. Show them love. The ability to enjoy a good meal, to sleep and wake up, to move your limbs, to exercise your brain and retrieve memories, to smile and laugh. All of this must be treasured. We only live once. Let us embrace life and the opportunities it gives us, to do all the good we can, while we can. Starting today, let's do something every day that we can reflect on in the future and feel proud of. Be kind to someone, make another human being smile today because of something you did. Take the wheels of your life, be proactive and start LIVING! Time is infinite. Not you. Happy New Year and may 2025 be kind to all of us.