Time can be defined as the continuum in which events occur in succession from the past to the present and on to the future. The thing is though that we learn pretty quickly that time is not constant. Sure a minute will always be sixty seconds, but that is only a measurement of a single dimension of events that have happened or are happening. A minute can seem to stretch on forever or pass by in the blink of an eye. Each minute is different because we're different each time we experience one. The time that lead up to this moment changes how we'll perceive the time that comes afterward. In that regard then sixty seconds may equal a minute, but it can ultimately become a completely separate span of time.
It might just be me, but it feels like things are moving faster and faster, even when nothing is happening. Tomorrow quickly becomes yesterday before you've had a chance to take in what just happened. Maybe part of it is that I don't really have anything I'm looking forward to so the days bleed into each other. Today has no greater importance than yesterday except that it's pushed me one day further into the future. Now I know not every day or even every month is going to be filled with excitement. Still without something to look forward to are we really doing anything except waiting for the next day to come? I've talked about the preamble before where it sometimes feels like the present exists simply to fill in the gap until something else happens. It seems like more and more people are constantly thinking about what's next. What's going to happen next weekend. What am I going to do next? Is the next President going to fix everything? What's happening on the next episode of television? Since the present is always so short, I guess it's natural to always be wondering what's coming next. Is that what life boils down to, waiting for what comes next?
If time truly is racing forwards then I guess the question is: What is it moving towards? Is there even a destination or is it just the journey? It makes me wonder if the passage of time will always seem to get faster as we get older or if we can ever have it slow back down again. When we were young it felt like forever to get through the year to see Christmas. As we get older the time in between seems shorter, even though it's the same amount every year. Everyone has moments that they wish would last forever, but they never do. No matter how much we try to hold onto it, the moment will pass and we have to move onto tomorrow. Is it possible to slow down our perception of time so that the moments don't go flying by? I think if it were possible it would take a conscious effort on our part to focus on the moment's experience, taking as much as possible from it before it drifted away into the past.
In order to slow the passage of time I think we have to appreciate the time we have because it's finite. Sure time will keep on moving whether we're here or not, but our allotment of time is fixed, even if we don't know what the value is going to be. Just because our amount of time is limited it doesn't mean that every minute is going to have the same value. It's when we realize how much or little time is left that we associate more importance to what we have. It's just human nature to assume something will be there until we don't need it anymore. Time seems to be no different, except that we're only aware of its value near the end. I'm not going to say something as cliche as seize the day but it can be very easy to talk ourselves out of doing something because we assume we'll get another chance down the road.
Is it possible that there is a time and place for everything? I've talked about regret as a thing where we do something wrong, but it can also come from doing nothing and missing an opportunity. You never can know if the opportunity in front of you will present itself again so in a way you may want to consider taking what you can, when you can. What happens if you miss that specific moment? Was it never meant to be if circumstances prevent you from moving forward with it? I suppose that really brings up the whole question about free will versus destiny. If it wasn't supposed to happen then it won't, no matter what you tried to do. Or maybe it wasn't meant to happen because of what you did. The questions can go on forever. Sometimes I wonder about if I'm where I'm supposed to be and I guess one could argue we're always where we're supposed to be because we're there already. That doesn't mean you should just accept your situation if it's not what you want, but know that it was a lifetime of choices that brought us to this moment, not just a single thing. Time is always moving forward. Sometimes it may feel like it's all we can do to keep up with it. We may never be able to actually slow down the passing of time, but we can be aware of its passage and with that knowledge hopefully understand its value before it's gone.
