You have probably heard the phrase, “Time is Money.” You probably understood this to mean that most people are paid by the hour. Either that, or your boss has a really strange way of motivating his or her employees. From minimum wage to some obscene billion-dollar CEO salary, in the business world, time is quite quantifiable. This global collective experience has revealed that we didn’t really understand that phrase. Our time is quite precious, but maybe not the way we appreciated it.  

If your experience is typical of others in quarantine, suddenly, you had more time that you’ve ever had before. You’re rich. At first, what did you do with your time? Scroll through social media? Binge watch an entire series on Netflix? Play a lifetimes worth of video games? Read those books? Catch up on sleep? What verb would you use to describe how you used your time? Spend? Waste? After a few weeks, what did you crave?  What did you want to use your time to do?  Feeling bored, lost, not really sure what to do with yourself and your time is quite normal. Filling up our free time with these types of activities used to be normal. Yet, if your experience is typical, you’re probably bored, and you probably can’t wait to see other people again. 

Christopher McCandless said, “Happiness is only real when shared.” He isolated himself in the wilderness of Alaska to come to that conclusion.  Thankfully, you can come to your own conclusion about what is important from the safety of your home.  So, ask yourself what you think is important?  How do you want to spend the time you have? 

It’s a tough question. 

The second phrase you’ve probably heard recently is, “when all this is over…”  This one is easy. Ironically, this is the answer to the tough question.  The next time you think, “when all this is over” you are figuring out your answer. What you want to do with your time is what you value. This tough philosophical question about what you value has sent people to Alaska, the ocean, desert, mountains, and other dangerous places all in the name of seeking answers through isolation and thought. 

So, go ahead and scroll social media, exhaust your Netflix que, google que, play some video games, read all the books, sleep, and the next time you think, “when all this is over” understand that you are finding the answers to life’s questions in isolation and thought. 

May you find all you are searching for on life’s journey. Best wishes.