Time: Destruction, Self-Construction, Happiness...?

Probably one of the most valuable gifts we have as humans is time and one of the most valuable talents is managing this gift in a constructive manner. Although it’s a gift, time is also our biggest challenge. It is a challenge indeed for if there is one thing that is unstoppable in this universe; then it must be “time”.
In the scope of our everyday activities the number one element that plays the biggest role is “time” - at lest in most cases if not all!
Person A: Hey what’s up? So, is our plan for tonight still on?
Person B: Yup! You pick me up or I pick you up?
Person A: You pick me up! What time?
Person B: 8:00?
Person A: Are you mad? Make it 7:00…. If you pick me up at 8:00 we will never make it on time.

In the very simply conversation above, we see that they had a target. This target is a plan they aim to realize. Also, within their scope we notice that the most perceptible concern was “time”. Every event has its own share of time so do our deeds and actions. In other words, the situation or status we find ourselves in is but a result of how we made use of our time.

Consider the below:

Given no.1: Time could be used for our own benefit and/or that of others
Given no.2: Time could be used for our own destruction and/or that of others
CHALLENGE: Time is unstoppable!


An old man I once sat with pointed out something I found really interesting. He said, with those exact words, “As’hab al hiraf” (people of professions such as carpentry, painting, hairdressing, baking…etc) are probably the happiest people. I then imagined a carpenter for a second. In the image in my head was a carpenter with sharp serious features. A busy carpenter who would yet smile and wave back if a friend waved from far. A carpenter with a busy life as he worked all day and who knows, he might have a million deadlines to meet! Was he really happy? I wondered.

I asked this man as I asked myself: Why do you say so? Why are those people the happiest in your opinion? And so he answered: It only makes sense! If this person, let’s say a smith, is busy all day, even if he was the poorest person in town, do you think this smith or carpenter would have the time to even think of the unhappy moments he lived through? Or would he have the time to even see his unhappiness? No, because he doesn’t have time to feel bored or empty.

The above does not suggest that we should all leave our offices and become carpenters or smiths. The above is but a reminder that as we still have the gift of time still in our hands, why not use it in something constructive rather than building more piles of emptiness and bareness. This “emptiness and bareness”, in our everyday life English, are represented through the word: “Boredom”.

Very often people tend to stress on how bored they are or how unhappy they are. Other times, they could be stressing on how they find their life empty and meaningless. After dissing their lives they then get to a point where they start hating themselves as they think that they are useless and life would go on with or without them. Here’s the question: Why even think that way?! Go back to point zero and take a different direction. Have you considered using your “time” differently?

Time, the constant power and energy of an unstoppable intangible flow can in fact, if used well, reconstruct the hundred thousand million destructed mentalities in this world. But even with spreading awareness it is still hard to make those people “realize” how they destruct themselves when they use their time doing nothing. Stop whatever you’re doing. Think for a moment: What is the one positive thing I do best? For God’s sake even if it’s baking cupcakes, it’ll keep you busy from building a wall between you and the society. If you did not take this step and found one day that you’ve become a miserable people, then know that you’ve only got yourself to blame.


Well now, I hope you found this post useful.

Just When You Think You Know

You started by knowing nothing. You knew absolutely nothing except what you’ve been spoon-fed at a very early age. You were fed, other than the baby fruity snack, the knowledge your parents wanted you to have. Little did you know and little did they know. A couple of years later, you found yourself in another circle where there was more than just your parents. Oops, school! We really thought that an error in this paper or a mark deducted from that test or this quiz was actually the end of the world. And here we are today amazed by the fact that some of the world’s most known inventors and scientists have struggled in school to the extent that some were considered slow and dumb. Little did those teachers know, huh!

Now, back to our present and back to our everyday life -

An interesting line I once read stated the following:

What’s popular is not always right, what’s right is not always popular

Such a captivating thought. While these words indicate that what the majority is doing is not necessarily the right thing to be doing, it also puts forward the search for deeper shrewdness and logic. Looking at the big picture: If “Yes” could be an answer and “No” could be another, interestingly enough you could be amazed by the other billion hundred possible answers between the “yes” and the “no”; such as “Why not…” or “yes, but…”.

There you go, not all tunnels lead to dead ends.

People struggle to reach to a point in their life where they feel satisfied as they hit a target. Then they realize that it completely does not meet their expectations. Now, these words are not said to make you think that every decision in your life was wrongly made. On the contrary, you could be the happiest person living a perfect life. The point is: Always be prepared for the better and the worse as life could be a bumpy ride at times.

Why does it not surprise you if someone were to tell you that the one person they thought they could trust is actually not a trustworthy person? Why does it not surprise you if someone were to tell you that after having spent ten happy years in a relationship they suddenly figured out that this is definitely not what they want from life? Why does it not surprise you to see someone apologizing to the person they’ve always accused wrongly and now realized that they are indeed innocent? Well, in short words: because these things happen!

Look at life from all angles before stepping into one of its doorsteps. Look at it this way: if you were standing by the window it is only normal that you would be able to see everything including the bed, the sofa, the doors but not the window. Likewise, if you were standing by the door you would be able to see everything but the door. In my opinion, this is the main reason why people get into arguments and land on situations of deep misunderstanding.

So, just when you think you know that you are right about something, think twice. And just when you think you know what makes you happy, think twice. And just when you think you know you are on the perfect path, think twice and picture a variety of options… because at many times you do not know, you just THINK you know.

Image taken from: http://gailsussmanmiller.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/thinking_about.jpg