Often we find that Time flies.
Over a millennium of ups and downs for Humanity, we have yet to fully grasp the relationship with time. Some are stressed when they think of time. Some don’t.
However, our perception matters most.
I scoured the internet to find as much good information on our relations with Time. The most importance given was to what you do with the time that you have.
“It is not for us to decide what we wish not happen, what matters is what we do with the time that is given to us.” — Gandalf the Grey
Our finest hour begins when we change how we look at time. But not in a general sense, let’s look at time from each of our important aspects of Life.
Relationship With Parents
If you are above 18, and living outside of your parents’ house, or even the country, you will meet them for 45 days a year. Every year. So if they are above 50 years of age, then multiply 45 days by the years they have left which is 40. So in total, you will spend 1800 more days with your parents. Your additional days with your parents will be approximating to 5 more years. That is the total waking minutes spent with your parents.
Your grandparents are less.
Relationship with Brothers & Sisters
Assuming that your siblings and SOs are going to be around the same age as you are, let’s make you the point of reference.
You are going to be living until the age of 90. For example, if you are 25 and assume that you have one sibling who is 6 years older than you. After cutting out all the potential work and errands that come in between, you get 1 hour per week where you talk. Many don’t. Maybe they are across the world somewhere or taking care of their newborn, but 1 hour, you get. Then for the remainder of your life, you will spend just about 3,400 hours together.
That’s 141 more days.
Relationship with SOs
Let’s say we are lucky to find the one in our 20s.
Again let’s assume the age of the person—let’s call him Jim—is 25. Then Jim’s SOs must be around the same age, on average. Then they each have a total of 65 years of experience left between them. For the sake of reality, let’s say both help each other out in the chores around the house. Take doing the dishes, if that part of the Day takes 15 minutes, it might seem insignificant. Why on earth would you care about 15 minutes of your entire day, right?
But those 15 minutes, in total, are 247 days of just doing the dishes by the time you are 90.
If you spend those 15 minutes fighting, you have 247 days of fighting, if you are lucky to keep someone around you. However, if you are laughing and having fun, then it’s 247 days of potentially awesome time that can be remembered in good graces.
This can be done to any activity, all you have to do is the simple arithmetic. This was just the significance of dishes. Talking is more. Doing laundry, cooking together, sitting still, and reading to each other, all these count up. Now these are obviously flawed as we haven’t even counted sleep. And you are not going to do dishes when you are 90.
Most don’t even live till then.
But Tim Urban summarizes his Tail End post perfectly:
When you look at that reality, you realize that despite not being at the end of your life, you may very well be nearing the end of your time with some of the most important people in your life.
Looking at Time from the point of Now should not scare us into paralysis. Instead, it should scare us into action. Talk to your parents more. Meet your brothers and sisters more often. Spend quality time with your SO. Call your grandparents more often, they all deserve you and you deserve them. In this Life or the next.
When you change your relationship with time, you change your perception of yourself. Then, and only then, you are open to transformation.