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CMCM's avatar

Deeply thought provoking piece, Spiff. I've sent it to a lot of people in my orbit. If only every 20 year old could read this. I've always pondered why my first 12 years seemed like such a very long period of time, yet now at 74 I'm increasingly aware of how fleeting time on earth really is. In that sense, at least one's perception of time definitely changes as you get older. When you are young, you really do feel as if you are immortal and the end point is lost in the far-off haze. We don't want to think about that. We waste time where we should not, we procrastinate about living living fully, imagining this or that great thing will come later. I see so many people utterly wasting their allotted time on earth, marinating in near total inaction, just vegetating so to speak.

I heard a comment the other day that went like this: "Imagine you are dead now. What would you be doing going forward, how would you live life if you were not dead?"

My dear mother died at 95. She was extremely intelligent and there were many things she wanted to do but did not do a single one of them, mostly through insecurity I suspect. The time was never quite right to do this or that, she would always say the circumstances had to be "just so". As she was close to the end, I'll never forget the comment she made: "I can't believe this is happening." I didn't question her, but I knew exactly what she meant. She knew she was near the end, she wasn't done, she would never do the things she thought she would eventually get to, she didn't want to go, and now it was too late. This has been in my mind ever since I heard her say that. I try to apply it to myself as much as possible.

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Freeq O’Nature's avatar

I’m trying to live like I’ll be 25 forever. I want to wake up one day and find out to my great surprise that I’m actually 95. Then I can say “wow it’s been a great ride. I’m done now. Think I’ll go to sleep and die.”

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