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A PERSON'S VALUE CORRESPONDS TO THE VALUE HE ASSIGNS TO HIS TIME
Time is the "Hand of God": it moves everything
along its course towards its
ordained destination. Some are able to comprehend
the purport of the passage
of time, and observe it with the eye of wisdom.
Such people deal with time
by grasping the reins of each passing day,
utilizing their God-given vision
to move their lives in the right direction.
Others perceive time in a distorted manner,
like a person looking at a
convex or a concave mirror. This malady of
perception occurs because they
are not reconciled to the "Hand of God", haven't
understood the reason why
God has confined us to the realm of time and
space. He intends thereby only
to give us a chance to perfect ourselves,
to acquire Divine Attributes
through our own efforts in a difficult situation,
and thus prepare ourselves
for the day of our reunion with our Lord.
In a Holy Tradition the Lord said:"The Children
of Adam curse time, and I am
time. In My Hand is the passage of day and
night".
For those who have not yet understood this
truth, time seems to behave in an
erratic and disturbing way. The effect of
this is to draw our attention to
the need to change ourselves to feel in harmony
with the passage of time,
since time itself, obviously, will neither
speed up nor slow down to
accommodate our wishes. Our perceiving our
own problem with time is a mercy
from God, for as a stomachache indicates the
need for a change in eating
habits, so does this malady awaken us to the
need for adjustment of our
lifestyle.
For some people time seems to fly, carrying
them along like helpless riders
on the backs of stampeding horses, in a herd
headed over a cliff. For others
time seems to stand still as if it were bogged
down in the mire.
First of all we must understand the value of
time; how, once spent, it is
irretrievable. If all the nations were to
pool their resources to try and
redeem even one second of the past (in order
to change a catastrophic decisi
on, for example) would they succeed? No, a
mountain of treasure cannot bring
back even a second of your life. So, time
is precious beyond reckoning, but
yet do people idly frit- ter away the hours,
and seek means for gaining even
more leisure time.
So many people (not only those who would be
considered clinically
manic-depressive) suffer from an inability
to adapt to the passage of time
in a way that accords them peace of mind.
The egos of very young people want to devour
the whole world immediately.
The feverish heat of the fulfillment of passions
and the pursuit of pleasure
makes time appear to fly by. So often, at
this critical time in people's
lives no prudence is exercised, and heeding
the urges of the ego they expend
all of their energy. Such unrestrained indulgence
is the sure way to deplete
one's energy quickly and foolishly for life
is like a marathon run: it
requires pacing: if you just sprint from the
start you will collapse after a
few hundred yards. Keeping back a reserve
of energy calls for self-control
and willpower attributes rare among the young.
As a result of the excesses brought about by
the manic state, its opposite,
depression, manifests itself in these young
people. Now time no longer
flies, but drags along at a snail's pace.
A depressed person wishes that
time would again fly, but, on the contrary,
minutes seem like hours, hours
like days and days like weeks. Usually, people
who lack useful outlets for
their energies and feel unfulfilled are subject
to these feelings. How
foolish it is for people to wish that their
time would pass quickly, when,
as we pointed out, time is like a priceless
jewel.
If a person can guide himself in such a manner
he is on the road to
perfection, because he knows what he must
do. His heart's eyes will never be
blind; he is keenly aware of the significance
of all he encounters.
Our shaykh used to say: "Oh people, how are
you filling your days? Don't
waste time, but strive to weave time and space
with still so that you will
leave an enduring legacy behind you in this
world and be honoured thereby
here and hereafter".
Guard your vital energy and your valuable time make every moment live.