Life Passes In the Blink of an Eye, Or Does It?
Have you ever listened to all of the different ways we humans regard the concept of time?It is definitely a reflection of age.
And I guess that's why I find it intriguing and amusing.
We've all heard the common complaints of time: in childhood we're never old enough until we turn 21, because at these ages our dreams are built on "when I'm old enough, I'm going to...
" after 21, we seem to be caught in a time-warp suggesting we will be forever young.
In order to prove it, we are often apathetic in making major decisions, because we have "all the time in the world.
" Depending on your activity level, time will stay suspended in this lazy state before increasing in speed as we begin to seek our place in life.
For some, marriage and family decrease personal time and increase family time.
This is often compounded by the career chase, for a demanding job will narrow available time even further.
It is also at this point in life when the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, changes in personal philosophies will place time in a different perspective.
It was at this juncture that I began visualizing my life as a gigantic whirlpool.
In my minds eye it appeared that childhood existed on the outer edges of the pool where life was lazy and slow.
As I aged, I found myself creeping inconspicuously towards the inner middle section and life began to fly by faster and faster.
This past year went by so fast that when New Years Eve arrived I still felt my calendar should indicate July or August.
As I viewed my parents during their early retirement years, I was sure that by having more time on their hands time would slow down, but they told me there never seemed to be have enough time to get everything done.
I think the difference was our individual places in the life continuum.
Not long ago I heard an academic discussion which put forward the supposition that the impression of the passing of time had a lot to do with temperature.
As children, our body temperature is warmer and time moves slowly.
When we mature and reach adulthood our core temperatures drop and time seems to pass more quickly.
Similarly, time in warmer climates moves along lazily, like in Mexico for example, with the need for the afternoon siestas.
But in cold, windy Chicago time flies by more quickly.
Maybe this is one reason why people retire to warmer climates...
and I always thought it was for the golf! We all have been around a Type A personality who constantly checks their watch, calls-in for messages, and is always noting something in their Day-timer.
When I am with these individuals my level of energy increases, or at the very least I notice I am just a little nervous.
Time is suddenly in the forefront of all thought and activity.
Conversely, there is the occasion when you have a long weekend or vacation.
At the beginning, you look forward to "all that time off.
"Then, ironically, you fill it with so many activities only to see it "fly by in the blink of an eye.
" If time really is a creation of man, then it would hold true that time doesn't exist outside of man.
When viewed from this perspective, we should have no other concept than the moment we are in.
Neither the past nor the future should mean very much because one is gone forever and one hasn't arrived yet.
So what you do with your day really has nothing to do with how much time you have.
Or does it?If conceptually, there's always tomorrow, can that in and of itself bring life to a momentum which is unhurried, and thus, more pleasurable? How can we as a society find a way to live happily without being so multi-tasked that we see burn-out in high school students?Where are we all rushing to and why the hurry?If, in fact, life were too short to begin with wouldn't you think we'd find ways to slow down and enjoy it? We are tugged daily by a barrage of advertising to purchase the next biggest, newest, fastest, thingamajig that will provide us with more time and unlimited joy, but soon we're so bored and find the need to go do it again.
Man, you get tired just thinking about it! Many other cultures see we Americans as possessed with being in a "hurry".
They enjoy their days doing what they can, untouched by the western accomplishment mentality, no medically related illnesses like ulcers, migraine headaches or road rage.
Our medical establishment capitalizes on our rush to "Just Do It" or "Do the Dew" or "shop 'til you drop" and "party on dude!" with new drugs to relax, relieve tension and stress, but in the end we are doing this to ourselves; it's a vicious circle.
And the funny thing is, we continue to provide them with a never-ending supply of patients for their psychiatric couches and diagnostic probes.
In the end, does anyone really know what they did with their "life-time" or do the majority of us have just memory-flashes of the highs and lows of life?I think many of us are seeking to control just a small portion of our lives, and managing time seems as much out of reach as anything else.
As usual, I find myself with more questions than answers, I better hurry up and go back to school to figure it all out, right? No matter how you look at it, it's fun to ponder.
And I guess that's why I find it intriguing and amusing.
We've all heard the common complaints of time: in childhood we're never old enough until we turn 21, because at these ages our dreams are built on "when I'm old enough, I'm going to...
" after 21, we seem to be caught in a time-warp suggesting we will be forever young.
In order to prove it, we are often apathetic in making major decisions, because we have "all the time in the world.
" Depending on your activity level, time will stay suspended in this lazy state before increasing in speed as we begin to seek our place in life.
For some, marriage and family decrease personal time and increase family time.
This is often compounded by the career chase, for a demanding job will narrow available time even further.
It is also at this point in life when the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, changes in personal philosophies will place time in a different perspective.
It was at this juncture that I began visualizing my life as a gigantic whirlpool.
In my minds eye it appeared that childhood existed on the outer edges of the pool where life was lazy and slow.
As I aged, I found myself creeping inconspicuously towards the inner middle section and life began to fly by faster and faster.
This past year went by so fast that when New Years Eve arrived I still felt my calendar should indicate July or August.
As I viewed my parents during their early retirement years, I was sure that by having more time on their hands time would slow down, but they told me there never seemed to be have enough time to get everything done.
I think the difference was our individual places in the life continuum.
Not long ago I heard an academic discussion which put forward the supposition that the impression of the passing of time had a lot to do with temperature.
As children, our body temperature is warmer and time moves slowly.
When we mature and reach adulthood our core temperatures drop and time seems to pass more quickly.
Similarly, time in warmer climates moves along lazily, like in Mexico for example, with the need for the afternoon siestas.
But in cold, windy Chicago time flies by more quickly.
Maybe this is one reason why people retire to warmer climates...
and I always thought it was for the golf! We all have been around a Type A personality who constantly checks their watch, calls-in for messages, and is always noting something in their Day-timer.
When I am with these individuals my level of energy increases, or at the very least I notice I am just a little nervous.
Time is suddenly in the forefront of all thought and activity.
Conversely, there is the occasion when you have a long weekend or vacation.
At the beginning, you look forward to "all that time off.
"Then, ironically, you fill it with so many activities only to see it "fly by in the blink of an eye.
" If time really is a creation of man, then it would hold true that time doesn't exist outside of man.
When viewed from this perspective, we should have no other concept than the moment we are in.
Neither the past nor the future should mean very much because one is gone forever and one hasn't arrived yet.
So what you do with your day really has nothing to do with how much time you have.
Or does it?If conceptually, there's always tomorrow, can that in and of itself bring life to a momentum which is unhurried, and thus, more pleasurable? How can we as a society find a way to live happily without being so multi-tasked that we see burn-out in high school students?Where are we all rushing to and why the hurry?If, in fact, life were too short to begin with wouldn't you think we'd find ways to slow down and enjoy it? We are tugged daily by a barrage of advertising to purchase the next biggest, newest, fastest, thingamajig that will provide us with more time and unlimited joy, but soon we're so bored and find the need to go do it again.
Man, you get tired just thinking about it! Many other cultures see we Americans as possessed with being in a "hurry".
They enjoy their days doing what they can, untouched by the western accomplishment mentality, no medically related illnesses like ulcers, migraine headaches or road rage.
Our medical establishment capitalizes on our rush to "Just Do It" or "Do the Dew" or "shop 'til you drop" and "party on dude!" with new drugs to relax, relieve tension and stress, but in the end we are doing this to ourselves; it's a vicious circle.
And the funny thing is, we continue to provide them with a never-ending supply of patients for their psychiatric couches and diagnostic probes.
In the end, does anyone really know what they did with their "life-time" or do the majority of us have just memory-flashes of the highs and lows of life?I think many of us are seeking to control just a small portion of our lives, and managing time seems as much out of reach as anything else.
As usual, I find myself with more questions than answers, I better hurry up and go back to school to figure it all out, right? No matter how you look at it, it's fun to ponder.
Source...