Perceptions of time

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 20:36:16 GMT

It's interesting how the texture of time changes as you get older. I tend to remember the 1970s, the 60s - even the last couple of years of the 1950s - in minute detail. As for the 80s and 90s... well, I know they were the years of nesting and child raising and career-building, so I know at least the KIND of activities I was involved in. The years since the turn of the century and the millennium? They've passed by in a blur. I'm startled when I read about something that happened in 1994 and realize that's twenty years ago. For example, I recently reread Gloria Steinem's essay "Doing Sixty" and realized that this year, she's doing eighty!

Of course, a young child's horizons tend to be quite limited, so reflecting on the most distant past I can remember is a bit like looking through a magnifying glass. I see a more limited AREA, but the grain and the details are writ large. And it's not just the sense of sight that's involved, but the senses of sound, taste, smell and touch (which according to today's Quirks and Quarks is probably several senses in itself) - in short, the TEXTURE of life.

I've no idea how much time is left to me - I don't really WANT to know. But as I've no particular reason to think the end is nigh, I'm optimistic that there should be two or three decades to go, hopefully with quality along with the quantity!

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Perceptions of time