From our correspondents

The Gift of Time

It is not a rare occurrence that the modern man complains about the lack of time needed for pondering over the sense of his life and how to be useful for the society he lives in.

However, let us notice how he usually spends his leisure time, for example when he comes home from work and, not burdened by family duties, has a “moment” of free time just for himself.

It is almost a matter of course that many a man carelessly sits down in front of a TV screen and with a feeling of satisfaction watches the chosen programme. Sometimes he even does not watch it, but just pointlessly switches between the channels one after another as if searching for something long lost.

Let us not take into consideration that doing so, he often comes across many incentives that are immediately befouling the tuning of his thoughts through their agressiveness and contemptibility, but let us focus on what he blashemously robs himself of – the gift of time.

If a man passively sits in front of the TV screen just for 5 minutes a day (in this case he would rank among praiseworthy exceptions), then he loses 35 minutes a week. “That´s not so much,” we can say. Yet it makes a loss of 140 minutes a month and up to 1680 minutes a year! Altogether it is 28 hours – which means more than one day that could be wisely used for fulfilling the sense of life, which there is no time left for.

However, does the modern man pointlessly spend on TV watching just 5 minutes a day? Let us be sincere and count how much time is wasted in a similar way by a man who spends 3 hours a day at the TV screen on average. Weekly he loses 21 hours and monthly 84 hours. It makes an annual loss of 1008 hours, which is 42 days altogether, thus one and a quarter of a month yearly per person. A three-member family loses in such a seemingly innocent way of wasting time the whole 126 days a year!

Now let us pose a question: How many useful deeds to help other people on the Earth could be committed within the wasted time? How many useful books could be read, how many trees in the nature could be planted to help the whole planet? And finally – can a man who is wasting his time in such a way claim that he does not have enough time to deal with the sense of his life and how to be useful? Is all of this not worth thinking about seriously?

Yet this is not meant to say that man should strictly avoid watching TV. That would be misunderstood since it is sometimes possible to find an enriching programme. Nevertheless, everybody should be led by the mentioned words to his own recognition of where he inefficiently loses more time than necessary without realising it.

For somebody the stumbling block might be losing himself or herself in habitual street gossip, extravagant shopping, sleeping too long etc. Indulging in all this he or she can lose – without noticing it – even more time than while watching TV spiritlessly.

Once Jesus, the Son of God, warned mankind that we will hold account for every needlessly uttered word. This still holds true but following words should be added: Man shall not hold account only for every uttered word, but also for every breath he is granted to live and at the same time for every minute of his day wasted in the futility of his restless inner life!

The time has come when we have to look for the ways how to use fully the amazing gift of our lives – no matter if spent in solitude, poverty or sickness. Time is a precious gift we must use if we truly realise it and if the desire for a more beautiful and purer life comes alive in our inner selves.

Let us use the gift of time fully and rightly since the account for every minute is relentlessly approaching and woe to every one of us if there is a single one that we cannot honestly answer for and justify!

T.L.