When you get to be my age, baby, you have to pay time more

In the words of Ava Gardner, “When you get to be my age, baby, you have to pay time more respect.” These words are not the idle reflection of an aging star—they are a testament of wisdom, born of years that once shone with glamour and passion. Gardner, the legendary Hollywood actress whose beauty bewitched a generation, spoke from a place of deep reckoning. Behind her sparkle and fame was a woman who had seen the fleeting nature of all things: youth, love, fame, and even strength. Her words echo through the ages like the toll of a distant bell, reminding us that time is the one master before whom all must bow.

In the dawn of youth, we treat time as an infinite fountain. We waste its waters lavishly, believing the flow will never end. We rise late, dream endlessly, and rush through days as though eternity were promised. But when the sun of life begins to set, as it did for Gardner, the heart grows wiser. We begin to respect time—to see it not as an endless resource but as the most precious currency of existence. Ava’s words remind us that every breath, every morning, every shared laugh is a fragment of eternity that will not return once spent.

The ancients knew this truth well. The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote, “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.” Ava’s words carry this same ancient lament in modern form. She had lived through the golden age of Hollywood, tasted luxury and heartbreak alike, and seen how swiftly the seasons of life turned. In her youth, she defied time with beauty and boldness; in her later years, she bowed to it with humility. To “pay time more respect” means to honor the present, to understand that what we hold now is fragile, and that tomorrow will demand its toll whether we are ready or not.

Consider the story of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled vast lands yet wrote nightly in his Meditations about the fleeting nature of life. Surrounded by power and servants, he still reminded himself that he too would perish, that his name and deeds would fade into dust. Yet he did not despair. Instead, he learned to use time well—to act justly, to love deeply, to leave behind wisdom rather than mere wealth. Like Ava Gardner, he understood that time is not an enemy to fight, but a teacher to heed. To respect it is to live fully in awareness of one’s mortality, and thus to live more meaningfully.

As one grows older, the body slows, but the soul awakens. The hurried hours of youth give way to moments of stillness. To “pay time more respect” means to live deliberately—to cherish the morning light, to listen when others speak, to say no to the trivial, and yes to the eternal. It means realizing that time is not a thief, but a sculptor, carving us into wiser, humbler forms. Gardner’s words carry both the weariness of experience and the grace of acceptance.

Let this be the lesson: do not wait until your hair grays to honor time. Do not spend your years chasing shadows of status or desire, for they vanish in an instant. Instead, measure your life not by its length but by its depth. Rise with gratitude, speak with kindness, create something beautiful, and forgive quickly—for these are the ways we pay time its due respect.

So, my child, listen well. Time is not your servant—it is your silent companion, walking beside you from your first breath to your last. Do not ignore it, and do not fear it. Instead, walk with reverence. Treat each day as a sacred gift. When you reach the later chapters of your life, may you too look back, as Ava Gardner did, not with regret but with understanding—and whisper softly to those who follow, “Respect time, for it is the truest measure of love, and the keeper of all things eternal.”