“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
Charles Dickens
In what has become an annual event, time shoved me a step closer to the threescore and ten that the scriptures compare to a tale that is told. St. James compares life to a vapor.
Those much more skilled than I in mathematics and physics declare that time is relative. I’m sure that is helpful information to somebody. It has never been a question to those of us who have been around a while. We know time is relative. How else could days last forever and decades pass in a moment? I’m sure years used to last longer than they do now. Whether time flies or strolls, when it passes, it is gone until we are freed from its grip.
Not only is the passing of time relative, but so is its value. People of different cultures, genders, and ages do not reckon time the same way. Though everyone has a finite number of days, no one knows just how many they possess. At times, I think we all forget to spend time wisely. That may be because it sometimes happens that a seemingly foolish investment of time, in the end, turns out to pay the highest dividends.
The secret to getting the most out of life is knowing what time it is. Divine wisdom declares there is a time to every purpose. A time to weep is as desirable as a time to laugh—each has its own season.
In this last year before becoming a septuagenarian I have one question that haunts me. If with age (time) comes wisdom, then how is it that I know less now than when I was in my “prime” and ready to rule the world?
That and the answer to the musical question, “Does anybody really know what time it is?”
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