Is it just me, or is time progressively moving faster? It seems that days are merely a breath and weeks are how I measure time. If I remember my childhood with any accuracy I could say that an hour lasted a long, long time, and there was much to be done in that time. Why is time shortening so quickly?
Some say that we experience time in proportion, that is to say, the more time we experience, the less shorter units mean in the grand total of time we've experienced. Just look at the graphic below to see what I mean.
Clearly, the more years we live the less we can actually draw on the experiences of those years. Perhaps this is the reason why our childhoods are not only nostalgic, but so formative. Why if our brains were more focused on making memory in Year One rather than defining motor controls and other processes we take for granted on a daily basis we might be able to remember so much more of that time!
So... Given that this is a fairly valid view of time, how do we slow it down and experience more of it?
It actually comes down to experience, ironically enough. When time seems to be speeding by at breakneck pace the best thing to do is observe and find something new to witness or do. Adding to your life experience with new observations and activities brings the mind back into the moment. Experience that whooooole hour again during your first guitar lesson. Take the time to really smell those flowers and feel the steady pulse of the seconds turn to minutes.
Lastly, count the good things in your life. I mean it, find out all those little things that pass by almost unnoticed and take note. The sound of rail cars wobbling on the tracks as the train goes by. The steady babbling of the creek. The wind whistling through skyscraper blocks. Experience more, and you'll see time calm down just for you. I know this comes across as silly, poetic language, but seriously try it, a week at a time, to the day, to the hour. Time is filled and lengthened with our experiences. In the words of Shia Labeouf: "Just do it!"
