Doesn't time fly...?

"This year just flew by..."

The older I become, the more I hear claims such as this one, and although I do sense a shift in my perception of a year, or any other period of time for that matter, my logic tells me a year was composed by the same "amount" of time in the past as it is in the present.

Looking back at my childhood, I remember how eternal a day seemed to me, let alone a year. As a five-year old child, a year was a fifth of my life (20%). Today, that ratio is about one twenty-eighth (3.57%). This ratio will continuously change as I reach "old age". Perhaps, if I am fortunate enough to reach 80 years of age and said ratio becomes 1 to 80 (1.25%), I'll become more patient, moderate or "slow". Maybe as an 80 year-old, an hour will seem like a minute...and this will grant me the opportunity to savor my life differently!

I took the liberty of graphing a 1 Year to Age Percentage Ratio Vs. Age which suggests that our perception of time continuously changes exponentially and begins to level out when we reach our thirties, a time during which, in my opinion, many begin to live a stable and orderly life or experience a midlife crisis...

Perhaps if we were to analyze our perception of time and its psychosomatic effect on our lives, we would be able to shift our perspectives in order to make peace with our own impermanence...

Different rates...

As a test prep instructor, in front of a small group of teengers, I often recommended they go on freerice.com to philanthropically improve their vocabulary. On this site, every correct answer was matched by the donation of a certain amount of rice to an organization working on the issue of world hunger. For the most part, this task was met in good faith, until one day...Did I mention "teenagers"?

He was wearing black and uttered, without raising his hand, "Why would we give them rice? There is no protein in rice? You would just be keeping them alive and then they'll die anyway!" It was an awkward moment, but having been around teenagers, not unexpected. I had to pause and replied: we are all dying, just not at the same rate....

If you were expected to live until your 30's, as life-expectancy predicts in some sub-Saharan African countries, wouldn't a rice donation be a great cause for joy?!? Which brings me to another question; do life-expectancy and enjoyment have an inversely proportional relationship??

I've observed how terminally ill patients or people who come close to death develop a new appreciation for life. I do declare that the minute we take life for granted, we cease to enjoy it, but when we embrace our impermanence, we smile more often!

Smile, it creates a happy ripple!!

"Good things come to those who wait."

This phrase makes me wonder...is waiting a deliverer of good things or does waiting make things seem good? Does waiting change our perspective on "things" when they arrive??

I've seen this phrase applied to many scenarios such as slow-cooking, dating, saving money, etc.

The adage guarantees good fortune to those who wait, but doesn't stipulate a length of time or proportionality. Can it be assumed that a longer waiting period equates to better things? Moreover, what is to be expected during this waiting period??

I believe that the truth behind door number two refers to our sixth sense, timing...

How does one determine when the apple is ripe or when to sells stocks?

I believe it is a combination of experience, prudence, wisdom and intuition: through our intuition, we can assess whether or not it's a good thing to have a banana at a particular moment in time; we gain experience from eating raw bananas, henceforth we develop the prudence and the wisdom to wait for them to ripen...!!

The way I see it, "Good things come to those who wait." may be viewed as the headliner of a greater truth...

"Live a little..."

I've noticed that every time I am told to "live a little..." it usually encourages me to do something that may be potentially hazardous to my livelihood.

Oftentimes "live a little..." is associated with eating excessively greasy food, having another shot of tequila at the bar, trespassing, committing a crime, gambling with rent money, engaging in sleep deprivation, hunting, eloping, using drugs, etc.

"Live a little..." can take the form of a wolf in sheep's clothing, excusing some form of misconduct.

The next time I come across it, I'll be prepared to look it in the eye and investigate what lies behind the curtain: an invitation to take part of my own life or do ill upon myself....

Buyers beware!

I do not do bored...

When I tell people, "I do not do bored", I often receive a look of mild disgust, disbelief, or both. Apparently claiming immunity from boredom translates into arrogance or ignorance which is far from what I aim to claim.

"I'm bored..." is not part of my lexicon because I hold a great deal of reverence for life and to make such a claim would be to hold life responsible for failing at providing me with entertainment! Instead, I prefer to hold on to contentment and view every moment as an opportunity to evolve...

Life is a precious gift; all we have is TODAY and that's why we call it the PRESENT!