Time

It's Thursday again, Friday Eve. I'm on the ferry again, traveling to the beautiful, distant city of Seattle. Soon it will be the weekend, soon it will be Monday, soon it will be the next weekend. Soon it will be the holidays, then my birthday, then summer (which I look forward to all year.)

I feel as I get older time blends together. Why is this? Is it due to the sameness of the days? My routine? The fact that I'm at work for 8 hours, commute for 2, and so have just a little bit of leisure time? How does an entity that's supposed to be so static, change so much?

When I was little I remember how slowly time seemed to go. Christmas and Halloween and my birthday were always enternities. I'd get home from school around 2 in the afternoon, and figure out ways to entertain myself. I hardly ever watched television. I'd write short stories, read books voraciously, play with my plastic Breyer horses, train my dog, roam through the trees and forest of my yard. Every day felt so distinct, so pure. Maybe it was because I was constantly learning new things, and had no real responsibilities.

I always hear from people, "Where did the time go?" ...or...."It's been twenty years since I graduated high school. WOW, the time really flew by." ....or..... "Time just goes so fast when you're an adult."

Is there any way to slow time for us? Maybe living in the moment will do it. I realize time goes by slower when I travel, because I'm constantly enjoying the moment, enthralled by what I'm seeing, learning new languages, experiencing new foods and culture. When I'm at work, I'm enjoying myself for the most part, but I'm always looking toward the next hour, toward "time to get off and go home."

Time is all in the mind, it' s only perception. It marches forward, at the same speed, our entire lives. It's one of the only things we can't control or manipulate in the scientific world, we don't understand it at all. But maybe time is really elastic, more than we realize. Maybe our brains shape time rather than time shaping us. Let's slow it down, relax, take in the sights and sounds and enjoy each day we have.