When I was young, an hour seemed an eternity. now it seems a day zips past so quickly. When you are having a good time, it is over too quickly, and tedious work seems to drag.
So I guess older people must be having more fun?
Funny though it sounds, there may be truth in this. For as wisdom accrues, the stuff of suffering is released, and genuine joy can gently replace the angst of youth.
Last year Steve Jobs died, and this is what he observed…
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.“
I like to think that what you want to become is who you already are – and the process of life is to regain the understanding your inner core, which is based around love.
The rush of childhood takes us deep into the longing for achievement, not peace. Then we spend decades moving back to spiritual connectedness by listening and searching inside, by contemplation. Interesting that when we meditate, time seems to stand still or even disappear…. And of course when we sleep what happens to time? And why fear death?
“A billion stars go spinning through the night, blazing high above your head. But in you is the presence that will be, when all the stars are dead.”Rainer Maria Rilke
Attending to what is happening right now has a big effect on our perception of time. If you concentrate of each mouthful of food you eat, for example, can make a meal into a lovely long pleasure, or bolting food down while thinking of work becomes an ulcer meal that you will never remember. Similarly during holidays, each day can be either a celebration of life, or a tense time. What is the difference between these extremes? Perhaps how settled you feel within yourself? Perhaps how much you are observing now?
Deepak Chopra has this to say about time….
“When I quantify space I create time. Time is a way of measuring space. When I quantify time I create space. Space is a way of measuring time.”It’s worth taking some time out, to be in that space where time doesn’t matter….
Philosofree,
I completely agree, it is so easy to get wrapped up into living your life based on other people’s beliefs and opinion about what your life should be like. It’s sad when you do, and the only thing preventing you from breaking free from that chain is the fear of not knowing what it is you enjoy or want to do with your life. One can easily loose sight of that, and unfortunately lives a long lifetime as someone else, completely dissatisfied.
Smartie
Cool blog!
It’s like the contest rule, you have to be present to win! Lots of wisdom in this post.