Time And Again

The passage of time is a tricky thing. In past experience, time has been an interesting concept with which to grapple. I perceived time to be an annoyance in many ways. In my youth, time always seemed to be in the way. It was the one thing that kept me from proceeding forward with the things that I wanted to accomplish. A lot of it had to do with perceptions and positions. You see, in many cases, I was always perceived as the young member of all groups. Time is one of the barriers that you cross when transitioning to become the senior member of a group. For me these days, time has been sliding by way too fast. It's been over a year since I took my last real vacation, and it does seem a few weeks ago. To my friends who joined me on that vacation, the relative time since our vacation was a quite a bit longer.

Time doesn't move at different rates for different people. It is the perception of time that is the real trick in these instances. As age increases, there is a perception that time moves at a more rapid pace. Seemingly, the days are just melding together leaving no points of demarcation for me. To some of my younger associates and friends, I am sensing that the perception is quite different. For the younger generation, it appears that time seems to be thick like a jungle, through which they are using countdowns and other tricks to fight their way through. I recall having that perception, and am now seeing quite the opposite as I try to find ways to slow the passage of time.

Time is, and will continue to be a constant, even though perception is not. While we all know that these constants exist, our perceptions provide a personal barrier that negates our acceptance of these realities. For example, I have a harder time accepting the passage of time as I start to grow older. I've become a mentor to a few people, and I have seen my former perceptions (or misconceptions) of the passage of time in each of them.

I think a few people have been trying to tell me something like this for many years. I finally got the message. It took a while, but to some degree, I think I understand it a little more now. Even a crusty, stubborn person like me can learn something once in a while.

Time for bed. See ya.