We recently watched the movie “In the Hands of Dante.” It’s a well-acted, if somewhat long film. The cast is stellar, featuring some major A-listers. It contains a lot of violence. Sometimes the plot is hard to follow (as it bounces back and forth across a span of seven centuries). And the language often sounds archaic, leaving you wondering if it were meant to authentically replicate how people spoke or if it were just some script writer’s attempt to wax poetic. The settings were frequently breathtaking. In short, it was a mixed bag.
One major takeaway for me was a line spoken twice by modern-day Dante: “Tempus fugit – time flies. That is not true,” he said. “Instead, breath flies.” He was, of course, correct. Time is a man-made construct. It is a linear way of interpreting past, present, and future dependent on a presumed start and end of things. However, since there is neither a beginning nor a conclusion to eternity, then the concept of time as we understand it is an illusion. It is not time that flies by. It’s us. Breath flies. Life flies. And we too often act as if it doesn’t.
We simply do not possess an unlimited amount of time to do what needs to be done, to say what needs to be said, or to experience what we would love to experience. The dream you’ve long desired to chase. The place you’ve always hoped to visit. The hobby you always thought would be fun (“but I’m just too busy”). The person you feel a nudge to see (“when I find the time”). The relationship that ought to be repaired or restored. The apology you need to offer. The forgiveness you should extend. The project. The fun. The love that needs to be expressed, and if put off too long brings debilitating grief. A friend whose life is rich and full explained his secret to happiness and peace. He said: “My daily mantra is ‘What am I waiting for?’”
Time doesn’t fly. Breath does. So, what are we waiting for? Boethius wrote that we all live in “the eternal now.” Now. This day. This time. It’s all we have because it’s all that is. Make the call. Write the email. Take the class. Buy the plane ticket. Set aside time for the kids or grandkids before they’re too old to have time. Speak the word of love. Self-indulge now and again. Live life while you have it to live because, as Dante observed, “breath flies.”
