You Have One Insanely Short Life. Do Something Meaningful With It

Live your own subjective truth

Thomas Oppong
5 min readMay 23

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Photo: Editorial rights purchased via Freepik

Human existence unfolds within the strict boundaries of time.

We are gifted with consciousness, the ability to perceive, think, act, pursue and experience the world around us.

But for a very short time.

It’s even shorter if you don’t realise the shortness of life soon enough.

“Life is half spent before we know what it is,” observes poet, orator, and priest George Herbert.

In the grand scheme of things, our lives are fleeting moments, mere blips in the vast expanse of eternity.

It is within this profound realisation of the brevity of our existence that the imperative to do something meaningful with our lives arises.

The fallacy of time is that we all think we have time.

Life’s meaning does not lie in its duration but rather in the depth and impact of our actions.

Every breath we take, every heartbeat that resonates within us, carries the potential to leave an indelible mark on the world.

The finite nature of our existence is not a cause for despair but rather a catalyst for significance and meaning.

When we recognise the transience of our time, it should ignite a fire bigger purpose in us, urging us to make the most of life.

It compels us to transcend our limitations.

When we embrace the shortness of life, we develop a heightened awareness of the here and now.

We become acutely attuned to the fleeting nature of time and the preciousness of our experiences, no matter how small.

The awareness of our mortality should instil in us a sense of urgency — a gentle nudge that reminds us to seize time, take risks, and embark on meaningful experiences

To do something meaningful with our lives is to cultivate self-awareness, empathy, and understanding — to uplift those in need, share our gift with the world, and contribute to the human experience’s…

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Thomas Oppong

Author | Habits, Philosophy & Psychology. As seen on Forbes, Inc. and Business Insider. For my popular essays, go here: https://thomasoppong.com