We don’t all have the same amount of time

I used to believe that “we all have 24 hours in a day” and while it’s technically true, it’s really not.

Shailja Patel said it very well in a popular tweet from a few years ago:

Use public transport? Your 24 hours are not the same as those of private jet owners.
Do your own cooking, cleaning, child-raising? Your 24 hours are not the same as those of someone with a full-time domestic staff.

The counter to that is that “private jet owners” have worked hard to get to that place in life, and have therefore paid with past work to have more time available today, and that’s likely true to a degree. Many people work very hard to build more time into their schedule in the future.

Perhaps you have a lawn care service, which gives you a few more free hours every weekend. Or, short of a private jet, even having your own private car can be a huge advantage over someone that has to rely on public transportation and likely spends a good deal more time on their commute because of it.

You may have largely earned your spot in life, but chance always plays a role. You might have caught a break 10 years ago when someone else didn’t, and your life is very different as a result of that.

Seth