Time. Seneca. Growth. 🕊

Change is a dynamic force that picks us up and forces us to contend with our environment. It can propel us like a catapult aimed towards a sort of paradise, or a type of hell. Sometimes surprising, other times expected. The constant force in the process of change, is ourselves. Consequently, in times of change, we are our best investment. Time is an important factor in the process of evolution and growth. Addressed to a mentee, Seneca writes:

Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time. We were entrusted by nature with the ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone who will can oust us from possession.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Letters from a Stoic : Volume I (p. 1). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Kindle Edition.

The Death of Seneca (1773) by Jacques-Lous David

Time happens to us all, whether we stay or leave, change or remain the same. We are reminded of this in different ways, for example, in our aging parents, relatives or friends. A niece who went from 3ft to 5ft in what feels like a second. An uncle that needs help getting around, or a new class at the beginning of the academic year.

For me, developments across the world, and difficult decisions in my personal life, are illuminating the passing of time. Depending on your perspective and view on life, change can be frightening or exciting. Perhaps you sit in between. Nonetheless, we a have choice in our approach to the unknown. In times of change, do we seek a life for ourselves, or beyond ourselves? The latter might bring more meaning, and take us further than expected. A life beyond ourselves offers us relationship and connection. We join in a flow, like a river, with people we grow to serve, know and love.

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