You want this to be over right? When can this end, when can life go back to normal?

We’ve said this a million times to ourselves. Not just during the pandemic, but countless times in ordinary circumstances. When we were excited for Christmas to come already, when we were waiting for a friend who called ahead to say that’d be late, when we were listening to that boring lecture. 

In his book Travels with Epicurus, the writer Daniel Klein recalls a formative moment: “I remember one long-ago evening, on an overcrowded train to Philadelphia, hearing a young woman moan to her mother, ‘God I wish we were there already!’ Her white-haired mother replied eloquently, ‘Darling, never wish away a minute of your life.’” 

Remember what Seneca, Epicurus’ rival and secret fan, would say: Life isn’t short. We just waste it. We waste it wishing for things to be otherwise. We waste it waiting for it to be over. We waste it by ignoring what’s in front of us. We waste it resenting, complaining, rejecting. 

Now is now! It can never be anything else. Now is your life. Live it. Love it. That’s all you can do. You won’t get anything else. You won’t get another moment. 

Never wish away a minute of your life. It’s a gift…should you choose to accept it.