A few weeks ago I was taking my wife to work when they announced that someone near us had won the 1.28 billion dollar lottery. As we sat in the usual Chicago morning traffic my mind began to wander thinking about all the things I would do if I won the lottery. The usual things came to mind. Take care of friends and family, provide for my children, get rid of debts and worry, oh the possibilities! While being non-Stoic thing to be doing as money is and should always be considered an indifferent (though a preferred one) it did bring to mind the value of time in all this.
Seneca talks a lot about the value of time and how we often mismanage it. Marcus too, reminds us that we should never be doing anything aimlessly and reminds us often that our time here on earth is brief. In fact you would be hard pressed to find any of the remaining Stoic texts that doesnt in some way caution about wasting time. So does that mean that the Stoics valued time more than other things? No in fact one of the things that we are cautioned against doing is putting too much value on a long life over a short one. Time just like money has the capability to be used for good or evil. One can spend time making the world a better place or spend time making it miserable.
What I have come to realize is that even though both money and time are indifferent only one of them is irreplacable. Therefore, we should treat time, be it our own or others as more precious than gold. What this means is that to give time is to give the ultimate gift. Especially if that time is spent virtuously. The elderly who sit alone in nursing homes would love to have some of your time. The animals at the shelter would love some too. It is possible that with the time you spend sitting in front of the tv or computer you could do more to improve the world than if you were handed a winning lottery ticket. With gratitude and respect,
Derrick, Kathryn,Todd