Imagine being aboard a sinking ocean liner on a cold April evening.
When the iceberg sliced into the hull and severed the water-tight compartments there was barely a shudder. After that short moment, no more damage would be inflicted on the ship.
The collision happened approximately 20 minutes before midnight, and the ship would reach the bottom of the frigid North Atlantic Ocean two hours and 45 minutes later. Time matters in situations like this. Every second counts.
Time is the great equalizer in life. It moves forward relentlessly. Each moment that passes is gone forever, while the next unwritten one offers infinite possibilities. Time is the glacier that carves the future. The use of time is highly personal. Its apportionment is foundational to happiness, and the decisions around who to spend it with are keystones of life. Basic human agency and liberty are deeply linked to time because time is the playing field upon which the great decisions of life are made. Murder is a crime above all others because, at the core of the act, is the stealing of time. Life and time are inexorably linked. Great purpose and meaning can be found in short lives, while many long lives appear to be barren deserts where wasted time and emptiness make their deposits.