I understand the "wearing thin on second chances." It feels as if time has sped up since I have gotten older. Wish I could give you the gift of slowing time down.
Wait! I may be able to help with that!
One year Scott and I found that time seemed to slow down for us. It was 2016 and we did so much travel that year. Because of all these new adventures, visiting new places, and learning new things we both felt like children during the last weeks before Christmas break; it was taking forever! We started looking at the science of it. Apparently, we were creating so many new neuro pathways in our brains that we were experiencing what children do as they grow and learn. It causes them, and us that year, to feel as if time had slowed down.
So, here is your birthday gift of slowing down time. Stay busy, but not with just everyday life. Do things everyday that are new to you. Try going places that you have never been before. Experience activities where you have to learn something new. Most importantly, meet new people as much as you can. Do these things and the memories will be so full of new things that your brain will be young again
Happy birthday.
Ren
When I was perhaps 13 or so, my dad told me something that really didn't make too much sense to me then. Yet, as I've gotten older, every single year I understand it more.
He told me that, as we age, our perception of time 'shrinks' – each year feeling short than the one before it – simply because of the shifting balance between our lived experience and the unknown that lays ahead. I'm sure those weren't his words, but I'm trying to paraphrase.
In his explanation, it really was about simple math; when you're just one year old, a year represents the entirety of your life experience – when you're 10, it's reduced to 1/10th – then even less, to 1/25th by your 25th birthday....and just a tiny fraction – a fiftieth – by the time you reach 50.
Time, itself, remains the same – in measurement and passage; it's only our perception that quickens.
Following that, your experience of 2016 would understandably have been elongated – stretched by the newness of your surroundings and experiences.
I love how beautifully your story fits into my Papa's theory. <3 Thank you for sharing!
I've actually done sooo much traveling and know how magical it can be when it comes to retaining one's youth. I'm now in a place of slowing – allowing myself to root down in ways I never really had before. Though it may mean delving deeper into my own earthen humanity – I think it's a good place for me to be. xo!
Oh, I love how wisdome is universal.