“Everything, Lucilius, belongs to others, time alone is ours.”Seneca · Scrisori către Luciliu · 65 · Scrisoarea 1
Seneca tells Lucilius that possessions, health, even loved ones can be taken by circumstance, but time, when lived attentively, cannot. The paradox is that the one thing we own is the one we waste most easily, giving it away for nothing to people who do not deserve it. For the Stoics, lost time is the only real loss, because everything else can be recovered.
Why it matters An antidote to modern distraction: ask yourself each day to whom you gave your hours.