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You are here: Home / Life / Life is Short

Life is Short

Well, if you were to believe the Roman philosopher Seneca, life is not short but long if we know how to use it –

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. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.

But since we often fail to use our limited time on this planet well, life indeed turns out to be short, or so it seems.

I was reminded of this stark reality yesterday when I read this tweet –

A friend said something crazy to me the other day:

"You have 18 summers to enjoy with your kids. That's it."

By the time your kids turn 18, you have spent 70%+ of the total time you will spend with them. After that, it's a wild card (they are busy, you are old).

— Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson) January 21, 2020


The next thing I did was to hold the hands of my 15-year old daughter and 8-year old son, look into their eyes, and tell them I love them a lot. And when I read this tweet to my daughter, she reminded me she is already 15, and that if I really believe in this tweet and really love her, I must take her on a trip to Disneyland (kids!).

Anyways, the idea of life being short did not leave my mind (it never does!) and I decided to illustrate it to include almost all my thoughts on what we could do to use life well so that, as Seneca suggests, we don’t waste our precious time chasing stuff that really makes it feel short.

Here is that illustration, and I have spent quite some time from my short life to create it. Just zoom in to read my ideas on how we can use our life better, to do things and make experiences that really matter.

Life is Short - Safal Niveshak

Most of what happens to us in life is anyways beyond our control, and we must learn to let it go.

But I firmly believe in what Mark Twain said –

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Now is the time, my dear friend, to explore, dream, discover. Because life, as we may live it, is really short.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tal Naftali Rosenfeld says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    Wonderfull,
    Regards from Israel

  2. Shivaswamy says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Wow!

    Vishal, I always liked the way you write.
    But this one – SUPER!

    Shivaswamy

  3. Kumar Gaurav says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:35 pm

    Your illustration is Marvellous…. ummmm simply great. Thanks u.

  4. Surendran says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Hi Vishal, this is gem of an article. Loved it! will print it and pin it to my wall.
    I like your articles and the way you write.

    Have you done any courses in writing and which website template is this? I love the simplicity of this page.

    Thanks,
    Surendran

  5. smridh says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    I have bookmarked it.

    I am blessed with a baby girl and god willingly will surely spend summers with her.

    Thanks for bringing this to us.

  6. Gowri Eswaran says

    January 23, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    Awesome 🙂

  7. Rashmi says

    January 23, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    I’m a new subscriber and I’m blown away by how much each and every idea you have written resonates with me. Keep inspiring!

  8. Soma Murthy says

    January 23, 2020 at 3:29 pm

    Apt reminder to us all!

  9. abhay says

    January 23, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Very true! Time flies for those who waste it, utilize life to the best is the best one!!

  10. Ravindra says

    January 23, 2020 at 3:52 pm

    Love your illustration. I will make it my wallpaper to keep me reminding. Thank you 🙂

  11. Smruti Ranjan says

    January 23, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    More insightful than a 500 page book. 🙂
    One image does it all.

  12. DJ says

    January 23, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    This is so valuable. Thank you. Is there a high res of the illustration pls? I’d love to put on my wall as big as possible.

  13. Ram says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:04 pm

    Simply Superb Vishal. Well articulated in a thoughtful manner. If we practice at least some of the them we can become better human beings. Thanks for sharing.

  14. Max S says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    Just changed my wallpaper to this image, the message is so important

  15. Girish says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    Sir, it’s really a very wonderful Illustration – LIFE’S SHORT…

  16. Sriram says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    Wow this was one of your best post! thank you Vishal…

  17. Sushil Jose says

    January 23, 2020 at 5:47 pm

    Loved the illustration.. It’s awesome Vishal.
    Thanks a lot

  18. CONRAD FERNANDES says

    January 23, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    Good thoughts and views . Time spent with kids is never wasted and they value it much more than any material gift that you can give them.
    God has given us enough time to enjoy all aspects and phases of life .
    World would be more peaceful if we lived this way

    • Anjula says

      January 23, 2020 at 10:01 pm

      Brilliant!
      This should be required reading for everyone 😊

  19. Sunil Gupta says

    January 23, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    Simply excellent post as usual .
    Enjoyed a lot 👍
    Also learned a lot .
    Mr Vishal please engage us learning .
    Thanks a lot .
    Sunil Gupta
    Visakhapatnam
    🌊

  20. Prithvi Malusare says

    January 23, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    This is lit….

  21. palaniappan says

    January 23, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    This one is outstanding.

  22. Ulhas Vairagkar says

    January 23, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    Hi Vishal – what a lovely illustration. I am sure it was a labour of love for you in making it. Thank you. I have been a avid reader of your mailers and have benefitted by it.

  23. Ulhas Vairagkar says

    January 23, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    I am sharing this on facebook. Hope it is ok.

  24. Sudarshan says

    January 23, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    Wonderful thoughts Vishal…Thank you!

  25. Shailesh Agarwal says

    January 23, 2020 at 9:41 pm

    Wowwww… Sir you writings and thoughts are so pure and it really helps me the way I look at life. Thank you..Keep writing lots of blessing to you and your loved ones.

  26. Rashmi says

    January 23, 2020 at 10:08 pm

    Beautifully put!

  27. Yash Patel says

    January 24, 2020 at 12:33 am

    Hello Sir,

    After a long time, I have again read this and I felt so rejuvenated.
    And That Picture you made it – really mesmerized me.

    I am really feeling so happy.
    Thank you.

  28. Mohan says

    January 24, 2020 at 1:47 am

    You always keep inspiring me. Thanks a ton for sharing your thoughts.

  29. Sandeep Mehta says

    January 24, 2020 at 10:38 am

    Very good write, the Specially the hand made art

  30. G. Nadaradjane says

    January 24, 2020 at 11:46 am

    Vishal, you and your writings are really great. What a maturity at this age. Quote from Mark Twain is very real because I always keep thinking that I should have done different things 20years back.
    Anyway life is like that.

  31. Uday Nath says

    January 24, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    Beautiful, Vishal, well done!

    Regards,

    Uday.

  32. Mukesh Mishra says

    January 24, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    Excellent

  33. KAPIL VERMA says

    January 24, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    This post touched my heart, loved it❤️❤️

  34. Prashant Kunnath says

    January 25, 2020 at 9:18 am

    This is outstanding stuff. Your thoughts are simple, thoughtful,relevant and stands out to be realistic

  35. Amit Kinhikar says

    January 25, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    Excellent !!!

  36. Kaushik Dana says

    January 25, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    Beautiful! Just Beautiful!

  37. Prashant Chavan says

    January 25, 2020 at 10:55 pm

    Excellent Vishal…
    Your blogs… articles are so informative ….I just wait for when Vishal will publish his next one….
    Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts… Thoughts of great people with everyone…

  38. S.DHARANEESWARAN says

    January 26, 2020 at 5:55 am

    only one is missing,ENJOY MUSIC OF BIRDS,RIVERS,LAUGHING BABIES,CRYING BABIES,ENJOY SILENCE AS WELL.THANKS VISHAL FOR ONCE AGAIN REMINDING US OF OUR SHORT JOURNEY OF LIFE.

  39. R K Chandrashekar says

    January 26, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    Dear Vishal
    To say this is a gem would be an understatement. Your blogs are like wine, getting better by the day. Cheers and God bless.

  40. Venkata Suresh Babu says

    January 26, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    Thanks for sharing this wisdom sir.

  41. P R Lakshmi Narayanan says

    January 28, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    Good article Vishal. I always love and enjoy reading Sadhguru. I equally enjoy reading your’s. I always found a similarity in Sadhguru’s articles and your’s.

  42. Parth Khimasiya says

    January 30, 2020 at 9:24 am

    Best one sir. Also looking forward to apply ‘Life’s short’ ideology in my life. Thank you !😊

  43. Muhammad Amin says

    February 7, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    This is amazing. I’ve taken long breaks before but I feel like God desires me to trust him more and toil less. This testimony encouraged me so much. Thank you for sharing!

  44. raman design says

    March 2, 2020 at 5:07 pm

    nice post thanks for sharing.

  45. Ugly hunchback says

    August 14, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    Goethe put it best:
    Life is short, but the day is long.

    And “on this planet”? This planet pretty much sucks, which is why God will destroy it in the end anyway.

  46. Dr. Shankha Subhra Nag says

    April 20, 2021 at 9:21 am

    May be this is the best article I have ever read. THANK YOU. I have read the list many times and getting new perspectives. Understanding few lines even better after reading “The Sketchbook of Wisdom”. Trying to apply these principles in life. Will surely teach my kids; this will probably be the best lesson I will ever teach them.

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