The true currency of life is time, not money, and we've all got a

Hear, O traveler of fleeting days, the wisdom of Robert Harris: “The true currency of life is time, not money, and we've all got a limited stock of that.” These words strike the heart with the clarity of a bell. For men chase after gold and silver, they labor for wages, they measure success in wealth. Yet Harris reminds us that the coin of life is not minted in vaults, but in the hours of our existence. Time is the treasure, and it is one that cannot be earned back once spent.

Consider the truth of this: money lost may be regained, fortunes squandered may be rebuilt, but time, once gone, flows into the river of eternity and never returns. The rich and the poor, the mighty and the humble, all stand equal before this law. Each is given a portion of hours, a limited stock, and no power of man can increase it. Even kings, with their treasuries full, cannot buy back a single breath. This is why Harris calls time the true currency—for it is both universal and irreplaceable.

History bears witness to this truth. Think of Alexander the Great, who conquered nations, built empires, and gathered wealth beyond measure. Yet he died at only thirty-two, whispering to his generals that they must carry his body with his hands open, to show the world that even the greatest conqueror leaves life empty-handed. His gold endured, his empire crumbled, but his time was gone. In this lesson, we see that wealth is a shadow, but time is the substance of life.

On the other hand, there are those who, though poor in possessions, were rich in how they spent their hours. Consider Mother Teresa, who gave her days to the sick and dying of Calcutta. She did not hoard wealth, but spent her time in service, and by doing so enriched countless lives. Or think of writers and teachers, who may never gain vast riches, yet leave behind legacies that endure through centuries, because they invested their hours in wisdom, in love, in truth. These lives remind us that how we spend our limited stock of time defines our true wealth.

The meaning of Harris’s words is thus: measure your life not by coins or possessions, but by the quality of your hours. How do you spend your mornings, your evenings, your fleeting days? Do you squander them on trivialities, or invest them in what endures—love, learning, creation, service? Time is the great equalizer, but it is also the great judge. The one who wastes it dies poor, even if buried in gold. The one who spends it well dies rich, even if wrapped in rags.

The lesson for us is urgent: guard your time as you would guard your treasure. Do not sell it cheaply for things that do not matter. Do not waste it in bitterness or envy. Instead, spend it with those you love, on work that matters, on acts that leave the world better than you found it. For every hour is a coin, and once given, it is gone forever. Spend it wisely, so that when the stock runs out, you may look back not with regret, but with gratitude.

Practical counsel follows. Begin each day by asking yourself: what is worthy of my time today? Choose to place your hours in what builds joy, wisdom, and love. Limit the hours stolen by distraction, for they are thieves of your treasure. Be present with your loved ones, for time shared with them is an investment greater than any bank. And remember always: the measure of a life is not its riches, but how its hours were spent.

Therefore, O child of dust and breath, remember Harris’s wisdom: time is the true currency of life. You carry within you a purse of hours, finite and precious. Spend them not on vanity, but on love, on meaning, on the work of the soul. For when the last coin falls, it will not be your wealth that endures, but the way you spent your days—the gift you gave to the world with your fleeting stock of time.