So often we hear this phrase, “wasting time.” But what does that really mean? How do we waste time?
Wasting time can mean time that is loss by not doing something productive. Time that could be spent creating rather than being idle or lounging around. It could be used to describe someone who is wasting time by not completing a task or a job. They could be “wasting time” on their cellphone or on social media. Or they might be distracted and doing other things instead of what they’re supposed to be working on.
But we must ask why that time is being wasted? Is it because that person isn’t interested in the task/job, or do they just prefer working on something else?
Regardless of how we use our time, that time can never be replaced. Yesterday cannot be relived. The months and years that have elapsed cannot be re-experienced or revisited. That time is gone. The years we spent in our twenties, thirties, etc., are chapters in our lives that we can only discuss in hindsight. They are inalterable.
Wasting time only has meaning in the present tense or in the future. To say “I wasted time yesterday” has no meaning, really. That time that transpired yesterday is just a reality now. Perhaps it makes more sense to say “don’t waste time” rather than saying “I’m wasting time.”
But why even say the phrase “wasting time” to begin with? We know that time is short–it’s something that is lost forever once it passes. For example, the time I took to write this post will be lost forever. But with the hours and days or years we have left to live, the question is how to make the most of it–to appreciate every moment we have.
Fallton Havenstonne 