ABSTRACT
We lead our lives as if running a race—against our prior performance, against others, against time in general. If we live our lives in fear that someone is “gaining on us,” or that we’re falling farther behind someone in front of us, our time is not our own. We become paranoid about “being caught from behind,” and adhere to mindless admonitions about discipline and focus lest we’re surprised by someone highly unlikely passing us by. People ability and willingness to view time as a priority and not a resource, and to reallocate it to their most important personal and professional needs will provide the immediate ability to better create and sustain meaning. Creating meaning demands that we run through the gate if it’s open, and tear it down if it’s closed. That “open gate” is a metaphor for escaping our stultified mentality, our daily grind, our ongoing, meaningless competitions.
