Time is the one asset in which every other variable is dependent.

If your time runs out, what else is left?

When I was in Thailand five years ago, I decided that it would be fun to learn how to cook traditional Thai meals. We were in Krabi – a town with no motor vehicles, where 500 foot rocks outcropped from the ocean on the shore, and were strewn about the coastline. The boat came early that morning – their traditional boats are similar to large canoes with heavy diesel engines powering the motor on the back. The boatmen rarely spoke English and in most cases, the engine dies several times on one trip. Trust is fundamental for travel.

Eventually, a large pier rose up from the water and we climbed the stairs and walked down the long path toward a man gesturing for us to get in a white unmarked van. After several miles of twists and turns on the unpaved road, I remember wondering to myself if I really wanted to learn Thai cooking this badly. Or, if I was ever going to return alive to prepare these meals for anyone back in the U.S.

Finally, we arrived to the most beautiful Thai Cooking School. My friend and I were the only people in the class that day, and we were fortunate enough to learn the beauty of cooking with vegetables and herbs that were freshly grown and organically cultivated on the property. Ya, the instructor, was fabulous and I will never forget her commands for putting more, “SHOOK, SHOOK” (fish sauce) in everything we made.

As our time was coming to a close, she spoke of her dream to house women and hold retreats in her home. She drove us to her house and we helped her put together some literature in English of what she hoped to accomplish so that she could advertise to tourists. She spoke of how lucky she was to have been able to accomplish what she had with her cooking school. She explained to us that she considered herself fortunate and she wanted to give back by providing a center for women.

She struggled to explain the difference between being well-off and wealthy. And then she took a moment to differentiate between being rich and being fortunate. It was there that I heard words that changed my life forever. In broken English, she uttered:

 “No matter how much money you have, we all get same time. I be mad if the rich got more time. But they don’t. We all have same time, no matter what.”

The impact of these words was immeasurable. I had spent the majority of my life affiliated with affluent people, and the one major component that they all failed to grasp was how very precious and dear their time was. There, in the middle of Thailand, I realized for the very first time in my life how important it was to me.

No one can have more time.

If you were to have more time, what would you do with it?

How are you currently spending your most valuable asset?

One day, as I was walking around Ao Nang, I found Utopia—well, the book, anyway. I was intrigued by the name and picked it up in a used bookstore for 140 Baht. I must say that this has been the best purchase that I have made in Thailand and is one of the most amazing reads I’ve come across in YEARS.

Thomas More published this book in 1516. Remarkably, he has produced such a timeless piece of work that we can learn even today from the society that he describes in Utopia (or, no-place). Because his ideas are outside of the box and very much in alignment with many factors I agree with wholeheartedly, I am going to describe briefly my favorite parts of Utopia….

Utopia

More’s story begins when he and his friend Peter come across the most interesting worldly character: Raphael Nonsenso. After engaging in pleasantries, Raphael begins to go into a long account about his travels and experiences all around the world. Naturally, he had seen many cultures and could assimilate what worked in various societies and what did not. Many societies were based on money, power, and greed and because of this he saw a huge dichotomy between the rich and the poor. Countries focused on growing and taking over land and vast territories by force creating wars, death and economic hardship. These societies had many faults—all of them but one: Utopia.

Raphael had spent years in Utopia after discovering it. It was, in fact, the only sustainable culture and community he had ever seen. Not only were the people well educated and advanced, but they loved learning and seemed to be the happiest people he had ever encountered. How could a society be so fulfilled and the people so incredibly happy? Here are some of their secrets:

• Utopia functions as a whole—all goods and services are made and distributed freely to families as needed.
• Their society and GDP was not compromised by having a fashion or entertainment industries.
• Land is equally distributed & maintained. There is no ‘cost’ for property, it is evenly distributed in small villages or compounds.
• Money is unnecessary because the town’s labor all goes towards the common good of providing ONLY what is necessary.
• Because less consumables are needed, there is less work that the overall population must do. (Much of this labor is cut out because they do not need to mass produce clothing, electronics, or such things.)

“They never force people to work unnecessarily, for the main purpose of their whole economy is to give each person as much time free from physical drudgery as the needs of the community will allow, so that he can cultivate his mind—which they regard as the secret of a happy life” (p. 59).

• The people are taught detachment when it comes to material goods and signs of wealth. In fact, it is instead a sign of something dreadful or even childish to display such garishness. Toilets are made of solid gold and those that have broken the law and become slaves wear huge chains of gold and gold jewelry. Sometimes children will wear gemstones but as they grow older they realize these are childish and give them away to the ‘babies’.
• Utopians believe in taking care of oneself and creating your own happiness. They consider it their right to enjoy life and seek out pleasure (as long as it does not hurt them or anyone else).Since their basic needs are taken care of (food, shelter, water, community) one can focus more on serving others.

“Nobody owns anything, but everyone is rich—for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?” (p. 110).

The location of Utopia is unknown, or else I would surely try to find it. But, if you decide to take on some of the timeless lessons displayed in this book, such as: not putting money towards fashion or entertainment, letting go of some of your personal property, working towards the common good of society, reducing your spending thereby reducing your work, detaching from material goods and signs of wealth, cultivating joy, pleasure and happiness, and serving others—my guess is that you may find yourself in Utopia when you are not even looking for it.