Musings on Time

And so, 2007 is gone and 2008 is ahead. I realize that many people make resolutions to do better for the following year. For some reason, I've never been one to set personal goals like this. I mean I can think of things about myself that I would like to improve upon. But it has never made sense to me to wait until New Year's Day to set about improving upon them. To me, a person's life journey is just that: A journey. One goes along and makes decisions as they come up about who one is and what one does, and these decisions rarely, if ever, coincide with a date on a calendar. Many people also seem to like to look over the past year and evaluate it in some way. I tend not to do this either. The past year hasn't been one I particularly enjoyed, although I did enjoy some things that happened. But why would one evaluate a year? There were some things that happened this year that I will remember forever because they either brought me joy or sadness, and there is nothing wrong with remembering such things. They form a part of who I am and who I will be in years to come. But what is the purpose of an evaluation of a year? As in a good year, or a bad year, or the year when some event happened, or the year of the ______? A year cannot be summed up and evaluated like a test, just like a person or place cannot.

My faithful dog, Bo, died in 2007. That was sad, but that does not mean that 2007 was sad. I also got my first ever puppy, and am learning how to raise her. That is fun, but that doesn't mean that 2007 was a "fun year." I started knitting and playing my violin again this year. And these things will probably be part of who I am and what I do for years to come. But this does not mean those things are the year.

I guess I tend to view years (and weeks and decades) much as I imagine Betsy would. I tend to ignore them. I live my life as it comes: taking pleasure in things of the moment that are pleasurable to me and sorrowing for losses that occur when they occur. I don't feel the need to analyze things that have been, or strategize about things that have yet to occur. The things that have happened, both good and bad, are past. I will remember them, but not dwell on them. The things that have not yet happened, may never happen. But when they do, either good or bad, I will deal with them when they occur, and either enjoy them or not. There is no point to worrying about them until then.

Time is a strange thing. It is moving and constant, but it does not seem constant. Over Time, we have no control. It controls us, in some respects, but we do not need to be enslaved to it. We cannot turn back the clock or move it forward. But why does that matter? Why should we want to? We should see Time as a puppy sees it: It affects us, but it is irrelevant to who we are.

And with that, puppy pictures! See how time flies for a puppy. It is the same toy that she has in both pictures, by the way, so you can see how big she is now. And yes, she de-stuffed her stuffed toy, and that's what all the white fluff in the second picture is about.

Then:

And Now: