Seneca was a Roman philosopher who believed in the importance of living a virtuous and meaningful life. He once wrote:
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death's final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it."
The philosophical concept presented invites us to reflect on the paradoxical nature of our perception of time and the length of human life. In reality, life is not inherently brief; rather, we truncate it through our own decisions and behaviors. We're not ill-supplied with time, but wasteful of it. Life is long if you know how to use it.
Seneca argues that life is not inherently short, but rather, it is our own wastefulness through "heedless luxury" and lack of "good activity" that renders it fleeting. We are "given a sufficiently generous amount" of time for achieving great things, yet we allow it to slip away unnoticed if we are not present and attentive.
Walking the Camino de Santiago has taught me to challenge this notion of squandering time. Traversing an entire nation on foot for a month compels you to embrace a profoundly altered perception of time. The slow, deliberate pace is a stark contrast to the hectic, fast-paced lifestyle I'm used to back home - the very lifestyle that makes life feel so short.
By intentionally slowing down and immersing myself in this pilgrimage, I've gained a deep new appreciation for the passage of time and the arc of my own life. The Camino has become a practice in living in the present moment, savoring the journey itself, and re-evaluating my priorities. It has prompted me to contemplate how I might harmonize my yearning for productivity with the necessity of attentiveness and mindful presence.
This experience has encouraged me to approach life with a renewed sense of intentionality and purpose. It's made me ask myself: How can I cultivate a more mindful approach to my daily life, even after the Camino? What does it mean to live a well-invested life that aligns with my values and aspirations? How can I apply the lessons of the Camino, like savoring the moment and appreciating the journey, to my everyday existence? Engaging with these questions through the lens of the Camino de Santiago has given me a richer perspective on time, human existence, and what it means to live a fulfilling life. It challenges me to continually re-evaluate my relationship with time, with presence, and with the choices that shape my life's path.
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