the slipping second

i've heard both atheists and religious people say, you only have this life, don't waste it. waste, they warn, is like decay. it will eat you. clock hands, slowly but always, keep creeping. second by second. day by day. should the clocks all stop, the sky would keep time, measurable by sunlight. the only thing that matters in measurement is relevance. people can handle increments. it's the abstract infinite that is too vast to grasp. small doses are what keep the populace sane. short term goals seem reachable. pay day isn't far away.