The Time of Our Lives

Time.

We think there's so much of it, we often just let the hours, days and years sneak past right under our noses,  and won't realise we've squandered a millennia of this gold dust until they're gone.

 

We won't know till we're in our final minutes,  that after these moments, there just will not be any more.  And although some may have a hope for a future beyond human, linear time, do we really want to let go of precious opportunities while we have them in our grasp?

 

Between the year of our birth and the year of our expiry is a small dash.  How much we fill out that dash - how full, how rich, how meaningful... or how thin, how shallow, how void of significance - is entirely up to us.

 

When we are young, Time feels endless.  There is always a tomorrow, and the day after that.  There is a see you later, a next time round, an a la prochaine, a hasta mañana amigo.  But can you guarantee it?  Are you so sure that the tomorrow round the corner will be all that you hope it would be, pristinely retained, contained, with all things remaining equal as right now?  Will you really live to see the Big Four-Oh, a silver anniversary, or that Golden Handshake?  Is there any certainty of the longevity of a blade sharp mind that might remember someone you've looked at only every day over forty years;  or a body not so diminished it can still celebrate the Kodak Moments with a modicum of gusto?

 

The only certain thing in life is that nothing is certain in life!  A brick can fall out of the sky and make an everlasting impact on Chicken Little, like a heat-seeking missile.   A vehicle can veer to avoid a little old lady but find a strapping life in its prime.  Or you suddenly find you've fallen out of love with someone who's sworn to bide Time till death doth thee part. Or the tiniest of malignancies reach sudden maturity and rear its ugly, tumourous face to make a meal out of a hitherto perfectly OK life.  Anything can happen.  You just never know.  There is such a thing called Daylight Robbery.

 

So what wisdom is there to sit idle while Time rushes by, to not seize each second, look it in the eye and say "Whoa there, you are mine!"  To tell yourself I'll just ignore that growing cankor, that glaring error, that unforgiven faux pas, that social injustice, that hopeful ingénue,  that waiting belovéd - let it stew, let them wait; I'm too bored, too tired, too busy, too forgetful, too lazy, too angry, too indifferent, too old or too young to bother just this moment -  and think you'll get away with things.  Or will you finally clock it, carpe the diem and put an end to the hungry gaping hole of irresolution?

 

Time.  Rarely do we find it kindly.  The wait worth the waiting for,  because something matures and slots into place.  It tastes better on the tongue, is more pleasing on the eye. But how much Stilton do you really want to consume, and doesn't all wine eventually turn into vinegar?   What perfect blossom does not finally still shed its petals, glorious though they may be for a season?  And don't tell me you prefer my wrinkles because they are smile lines. Per-lease.  Mostly we find that Time is a rush job;  it flashes past like a whirlwind and leaves us thoroughly tousled and breathless.  Vrrooom!  Where did it go?  How did you become this, when you used to be that?  I didn't do it right last round, do I have a second go? No? You mean, this is it? What do you mean I can't buy it back? 

 

Tarry no longer.  Time is no respecter of your logical hesitation and well-reasoned procrastinations. All of us travel in Time,  and whether you opt to move with it or sit on your butt - it flows on regardless, and you may never come this way again.  Our Time, such as it is, is a gift.  Don't let yours sit in a corner unopened.  You won't own it until you've pulled the ribbon and taken the thing out of the box.  So take Time: breathe it, eat it, dream it, fill it, shape it;  squeeze every living drop out of your allotted portion and make it count. 

 

Take it from someone who's passed some Time, lost some days and now chase its tail.  Don't waste your Time, or mine.