THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Many years ago I happened to go a play.  I heard a line that was so haunting and seminal that I never could forget it.  Though it hasn’t always been consciously on my mind, at pivotal strategic times it seems to surface, I’d pull out the line and reread it carefully.  “In the time of your life, live- so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to misery and sorrow in the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”  These are the words of playwright William Saroyan from this play, “The Time of Your Life.”

I guess one of the reasons this quote was so haunting to me was that his use of the phrase, “Time of your life” is not the usual meaning that comes to mind.  I remember the first time I comprehended his meaning I was taken aback.  I recognized, though the words had a popular interpretation, his was much more profound and significant. Being young at the time, I was fortunate to be having “The time of my life,” exploring, learning, experiencing, enjoying.  The play startled me to realize consciously that “The time of my life” was a finite time. I vowed, then and there, to insure the remaining times of my life would be lived appreciating while having the time of my life.  I averred to have “the time of my life” during “The time of my life.” The odd thing is that in all these years since, I’ve never once heard anyone use the two phrases simultaneously like I had to myself.  It seems so natural, so simple. Yet if I were forced to use my personal life experience to come up with a directive on HOW one should live one’s life, I couldn’t do much better than to advise living life so that you use “the time of your life” to have “The time of your life.” 

Let me explain what I mean.  It’s obvious the two identical phrases have two different meanings.  You go to an amusement park or rock concert to have the time of your life.  That’s an experience, an invigorating, enjoyable experience.  To live or exist in the time of your life, we’re talking duration, a limited span of time.  When employing the first meaning the phrase anticipates a positive, exciting experience, the second usage may connote a somewhat depressing thought, reminding us that this life doesn’t last forever.  I personally feel I  haven’t truly learned two of Life’s important lessons if I haven’t come to comprehend the difference between having “The time of your life” (life enjoyment) and properly allocating “The time of your life” (the actual, infinite time).

Let’s explore lesson one first.  What does it mean to have to have the time of your life?  Clearly each of us will offer a subjective opinion on what the idea commutates to him or her.  As a Christian I’ve come to believe we’re each here to experience the time of our life. Optimally I should be able to look back on the time of my life with fond memories, to be able to admit,  “Yes, I had my set of problems, my burdens to bear, but I also had many, many wonderful moments. I’d recommend this existence to anyone; life was worth the time I spent in it!”  As to the subjective interpretation of “the time of my life,” I realize I must tread carefully.  For example, my personal idea of having the time of my life is not that of living in a third world country as a missionary allaying the suffering of others.  I have good friends, though, who are having their times of their lives doing just that.  However, neither is traveling the world to ski the slopes on every continent my idea of having the time of my life, and it’s not just because I can’t ski.  Again, I have friends for whom that would be their dreams.  When I look back, I’ll freely admit that among the greatest times of my life were times spent exploring, learning, experiencing shared moments with others.  I wish I could ask each of you personally what have been the greatest times of your lives.  Whatever you do, cherish them, remember them, and revel in them.  And then expect there will be more to come.  I’ve come to believe “You’re not really living unless you appreciate you ARE living.” Simply being awake through one exciting moment after another, without taking a moment to reflect, to truly experience and be to thankful for the opportunity, cannot possibly produce maximum enjoyment.

A man who lived life to the full, who experienced occasions you and I could never hope to duplicate had this to pass on.  Writing in 1Peter 4:2-6 he cautioned not to be enamored with the physical intrigue and pleasure of the material.  He observed of a fully functioning individual, “He does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God…LIVE according to God in regard to the SPIRIT.” What an interest expression, “to live with regard or in regard to the spirit.”  Peter is claiming, based on his experience, living is more than just living in a material world.  There are things, experiences out there we can’t always literally see or sense.  Life has a spiritual aspect that must not be neglected.  More on “living with regard to the spirit” another time, but Peter is hinting you can’t have the time of your life without connecting to the spiritual aspect of life.

Now for lesson two, which to me is the same as lesson one, but with a different slant.  Time, in each  turn of events  we find ourselves, are moments to be collected and valued.  Not that you ever want to live them over again, but these experiences are part of you, you wouldn’t be quite the same person without them.  The end product of your personal human life is a collection of a set of finite moments, experiences that molded you in to the unique work of art and bundle of stories that make up you.  If only we could appreciate that we’ve taken away within us something from each episode we’ve experienced.  We’ve learned as much, maybe more, from the bad times as we have from the good times.  Either way they’re our times, the times of our personal lives.  As humans, we only have so many of them.  And you come to discern you can’t always appreciate at the moment while you’re living the episode, how valuable it may prove to be later.  What you discover, the excitement you feel, the beauty you share, are the exact same experiences you have in common and share with millions of others, those before you and those after you’re gone; they are the connections that bind you to the progression of humanity.

Value each moment.  Don’t make the mistake of evaluating each moment at the spur of the moment so to speak.  You don’t know till all the little moments are collected which you’ll cherish most.  I’ve had others tell me as they surveyed their lives toward the end of their own finite string of days, “My most cherished times were the seemingly mundane times when I was a kid at home watching TV with my family, father, mother, siblings.” Or ”I remember so clearly when I was just laying in the grass on a warm summer day gazing up at the sky trying to make sense out of the shapes  the clouds were drawing.” Those are all parts of the time of my life.

I’ve come to value the admonition of the many Bible verses like the one at 2 Corinthians 6:2,    ”I tell you NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation.” The biblical sage fervently stresses the most momentous times of your life are the NOWs.  The Now won’t be repeated, it can never be experienced again in exactly the same way, it can’t be taken back, and there are only so many of them. 

 It really irritates me to hear someone admitting to deferring his or her living in the present for a future afterlife. “I’ll wait till heaven to really enjoy life, that’s when the real life begins.”  I want to blurt out, “What do you call this existence, just being conscious, is it to be treasured any less than being the most wonderful gift ever to be conceived? Is this time so trivial that it’s worth so little to be squandered and not cherished?  Don’t you realize that one of the men who most fervently pointed to the joys and rewards of heaven exclaimed the words we just read,’ NOW is the day of salvation’?  Now is all you’re guaranteed.  Don’t miss out on the NOW.” 

So to me, having the time of my life means being able to revel in the exquisiteness of nature around me, marveling at what mankind has been able to do, his inquisitiveness and inventiveness, the joy of sharing with others, the satisfaction of doing something, anything, constructive especially for others and getting acquainted with my roots to the divine, my divine connection, my spiritual side and then sharing that discovery with others.  Exploring, questioning, marveling, helping, caring, that’s having the time of my life.

Finally the author, William Saroyan had one more observation as he surveyed our collective time here, “In the time of your life, Live-so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches.  Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.”

What a joy to read such words.  They remind me that living is a magical time. There is so much to do, so many ways to show our concern for those we love and so many things to marvel at. There’s just not enough of it, time.   Let’s appreciate that.  I wish for all of you, my friends, that you too may have the “TIME of your life during the time of YOUR LIFE.”