The late, great country music legend Merle Haggard once observed that the most valuable thing we have is time.

That’s right — time. Study on that a bit, friends and neighbors. The Okie’s profundity, as simple as it might seem at first, is really quite perceptive.

I once heard someone say that “time is an idea in the mind of God.” Now, that’s deep, even if I don’t really fully understand it.

Try to define time. We can only do so by using such words as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. All these are, well, words, part of an arbitrary system of measurements. I mean, who is to say that a minute couldn’t have been 90 seconds? Or an hour 75 minutes, or a week 10 days, or … Well, you get what I’m saying.

Earth’s relationship to the sun has to do with the concept of a year, that I understand. But beyond that, the way we measure, label time, is a manmade construct. If you really want to get into this conundrum of time, check out Einstein’s explanation. If you understand old Albert’s take on time, please explain it to me. Heavy duty math; time and space.

Now, should anyone infer that I am reasonably comfortable with, knowledgable about, anything even remotely related to higher mathematics, let me quickly disabuse you of such a notion. It’s a whole foreign world to me. My small brain isn’t wired for things in the abstract, or at least abstract to me.

I do know, understand however, that time is precious, fleeting, that once past is irretrievable. That is why the time we do have, in the “now,” is so important. Time in the future may be hoped for, but it’s not promised.

Wasting time is bad. Henri Amiel, in 1864, said that “Time and space are fragments of the infinite for the use of finite creatures.” In other words, we only have so much of it. All the more important not to waste it. About this, I believe we all are in agreement.

The time you have just taken to read my scribblings here is now gone. An evanescence. Wasted? Not for me to say.

So. Until next week, I wish each of you well. May we all use our time wisely.

APROPOS — “Dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”

Benjamin Franklin

(1757)