On the Shortness of Life

People have always been good at wasting time. Most people spend the majority of their time engaged in trivial activities – even if these activities don’t seem trivial to them.

But the thing about trivial activities is that they make life seem short. For instance, life will seem especially short if you only pursue status or power. You’ll always have your eye on some future goal and won’t be able to enjoy your current situation.

People tend to think that, once they’ve achieved all their goals, they’ll have time to enjoy life. But it rarely works out this way. What usually happens is this: people spend their life preparing for life.

The Emperor Augustus is a case in point. He spoke endlessly of quietude, of the calm and rest he’d enjoy upon retirement from his public duties. But this longed-for day never came. The Roman Empire depended on him, and he could never pull himself away.

Life will also seem short to those who pursue a life of luxury. These people can't even enjoy their indulgences. They’ll always be thinking of how their current thrill will soon end, or where their next one will come from.

But worst of all are those who seek glory after death. These people get wrapped up in planning for a posterity that’s not even theirs. They'll be thinking of that pithy remark in their obituary. Or they’ll draw up plans for giant tombs. But funerals ought to be simple symbolic affairs. In fact, there is nothing more suitable than a single burning candle, an apt symbol for the shortness of human life.