life is long
People say life is short. They say it when something bad happens. It's meant to make you pause and appreciate what you have. Intellectually, I get it. But I don't like saying it. I prefer "life is long".
In his essay "On the Shortness of Life", Seneca argues the following:
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested."
The problem isn't too little time. It's wasted time. When I say life is long, I'm expressing optimism. About all the paths still ahead. About the fact that everything is still possible.
Maybe it doesn't matter which you say – and maybe it's easier to say "life is long" when things are going well. I just prefer the one that feels like possibility.
We think a lot about those black lines, forgetting that it’s all still in our hands. pic.twitter.com/RSZ1d3W642
— Tim Urban (@waitbutwhy) March 5, 2021
