Einstein told us reality is an illusion, albeit a persistent one. Physicists tell us time is an illusion, a side effect of the Big Bang. Afterlife researchers tell us there is no time on the Other Side.
Time is one of life’s great mysteries, for me. It’s been over two years since Shayna passed 814 days to be exact. In some ways it seems like it’s no time. I can still recall moments of that day as if they happened five minutes ago. Yet, when it comes to the longing for the time to pass quickly so I can go Home, time drags on.
The other day I got up and was trying to get out of the house to get my walk in before the rain. But, I got on Facebook and started responding to comments. I wanted to be out by a certain time. But, I wanted to get my thoughts out while they were in my head. As I sat there, typing, absorbed in the world of the conversations I was engaged in, I wanted to freeze time. It felt as if no time was passing at all. Yet, when I looked up at the clock in spite of my perception, in spite of my wishes, 20 minutes had come and gone.
Yesterday, we traveled to Phoenix. Our flight was at 6:30 AM, which meant we had to be up by 4:00. We left Cincinnati at 6:30 and through the magic of man made time zones, arrived in Phoenix at 7:05, compressing three and a half hours of time into just half an hour. We were at the hotel by 8:00 and having breakfast in Phoenix by 9:00 local time. All day long we looked at our watches marvelling at how it felt like it wa at least five or six hours later than it really was. Between rising three hours early and “gaining” three hours traveling across time zones, the day seemed like it wwould never end. Finally, 10 PM rolled around and we called it a day, 21 hours after we had gotten up.
While time can seem to flash by in the blink of and eye, or the clock hands can seem to be stuck, depending on what you are doing and whether you can’t wait for it to be over or wish it would go on forever, one thing is certain. When you are on this Earth time passes, in spite of how we perceive it. Day becomes night. The young become the old. And, we march forward whether we move our feet or not. Time is like a river that carries us along with it. We might as well try to enjoy the ride as we are carried to our destinations.
