There is a saying that keep hearing in our everyday lives: "Time flies." But if you think about it more, there is another truth that comes to light: life as we know it seems to be ending much faster than the flow of time itself. This paradox shows itself not only as a beautiful thought but also as a meaningful statement about the neglected fact of our lives. It is also a noticeable thing that time flies very fast when you're having fun. That's an easy way to explain that weekend trip that seems like it happened a long time ago or the memory of a beautiful day when you were a kid that seems like it happened just yesterday. But here's the thing: time doesn't fly as fast as our memory does.
It's the fact that our lives, our happiness, and sadness, are vanished in a short time frame that can be compared to a single tiny stroke on the huge painting of time that is forever. You think when you were a kid, days seemed to go on forever because you were so excited about discovering new things and had so much energy to make your parents tired. A tiny celebration such as Eid day, birthday party, or Christmas morning was a big deal in your small worlds. Still, something strange happens as we are getting old by the blending years together and it only takes a blink of an eye to rewind any memory of our past life.
Time is a force that is always there, like a quiet clock that keeps going. We can't stop or change the flow of this flowing water because it is always there. We notice the time more consciously at the start of a new year, the passing of a loved one, or a major life event. But most of the time, we don't notice how fast it's moving until we become an old man suddenly. Philosopher Thomas Mann once said, "Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunderstorm or the sound of trumpets to mark the start of a new month or year." The smooth flow of time makes us forget the hours and days that go by so fast, that we often don't notice how much time we're losing by living and growing older.
We can't tell by ourselves how much time has passed as it is not sensible unless we have some incidents or memories. Imagine being stuck on an island by yourself with no clock or date where we can only sense time by the sunrise and sunset, nothing else. On the other hand, life is a colorful fabric made of memories from the very beginning of our lives. Every laugh, every tear, every victory, and every loss are the things that make our lives our own lives. We can easily reach these memories, but the idea of time is harder to grasp by a short-living creature like us. If you close your eyes for a second at the current moment, you can instantly go back to the birthday party of your childhood. The smell of cake and the sound of laughs will come to your ears and you will feel like you were there once again.
Unlike how time moves in a straight line, our lives are filled with memories, which are full of ups and downs, pleasure and sorrows that give us a unique power of going back in time and reliving any moments so clearly that it's hard to believe years have passed in the meantime. Think about the simple act of remembering a special time from your childhood. I can still remember the foods during the winter with date tree juice, the playgrounds of my primary school, and so many memories I can rewind in just a second.
Even though time keeps going, life seems like it only lasts a moment at the final stage of our lives. Many people say we become more childish with the increasing age after 60 years old. A lot of the time, we don't realize how short our life is. We can only realize the moment when we are young and happy, then when we are adults we get a lot of responsibilities, and finally, when we are old, we can think properly about anything related to our life-long experiences. This thought is expressed by Robert Frost: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." Life moves so quickly that we often forget our age and react like a child in many situations.
As a vague idea, time is typically hard to measure in a way that makes sense, other than by watching clocks tick. The Greeks had two words for time: "chronos," which means the time we measure in steps, and "kairos," which means the time of moments and events. Chronos can be tracked with diaries and watches, but kairos is hard to pin down because it comes and goes in flashes of memory and feeling.
On the other hand, memory gives us a physical account of our lives. The sound of the person whom we love, the smell of the soil where we were born, and the taste of a favorite dish are deeply attached in our minds. We can instantly go back to any of them, which is a kind of time travel that doesn't follow the rules of the natural flow of time.
A lot of smart people have thought about how time and life are connected. It was said by Benjamin Franklin, "Lost time is never found again." This quote allow us to think our life has a limited time but we should enjoy every moment. Even though time goes by quickly and without us noticing, life demands our attention through our memorable memories and experiences. Realizing this duality can help us live more mindfully, where we enjoy every moment.
A lot of the time, we waste our days by doing nothing and missing out on important times. We have many good memories of when we were really happy: climbed a mountain and reached the top, make a great achievement, or had some of your favorite gifts. Even after a lot of years have passed, these memories can still make you feel the same happiness of your past. They become jewels that will last forever and show how enjoyable life we are living. Even though time will always pass, we have complete power over how we deal with it. And so we should dealt it very carefully.
Thanks a lot for your time and attention. I will catch up with you at the next one.
Wish you a great weekend!