It is a widely accepted adage that,"The older you get,the faster time seems to go." But why should aging have this effect?After all,there is the parallel adage that,"Time flies when you are having fun." But as we age,time flies whether we are having fun or not.
So what's going on?
I have recently been trying to understand the phenomenon,because for the past several years many of my days have been extremely long,yet the years still seem to be accelerating.
To tackle the problem,I did an Internet search to see what others were saying on the subject.Nearly all the returns had to do with parenting."Oh,they grow up so fast.The days are long,but the years are short." This is perhaps a partial explanation; however,since the phenomenon occurs just as well to people who have no children,it cannot be the whole answer.
Some other comments had to do with getting religion."I found God at the age of 30 and every day since I have been waiting to go to His kingdom.I am now in my 80s.Oh,the days have been so long,but the years have been so short." Again perhaps a partial explanation; however,since the phenomenon occurs just as well to non-believers as believers,it cannot be the whole answer either.
I then turned to science.I typed in the search words "psychology of time".This turned up hundreds of articles,most of which were very technical,dealing with brain structure and functions,neurotransmitters and the like.To narrow the search,I typed in both "psychology of time" and "days are long".And got nothing at all!
Finally,I decided to sit quietly and ponder the matter myself.This turned about to be a wise decision,because I think I found the solution.It's really quite simple.It all has to do with "anticipation" and "retrospection".
Whatever the nature of our individual lives,we all anticipate things important to us.Then after they happen,we look back at them.For example,most school children look forward to the long summer vacation,which always seems to be an eternity away.Finally,it arrives.Then,almost before they blink an eye,it's over and they are back in school again.
Progressing from primary school to secondary school is another excruciating anticipation for a youngster,especially if the move is perceived as being an important step away from childhood into adulthood.
Our first love,our first heartbreak,driving a car,landing a job,marriage,etc.When we look forward,all these milestones seem impossibly far in the future.However once achieved,how quickly they recede into the past.
The older we get,the more milestones we have to look back on.So the farther and faster they appear to recede.So if sometimes the clock may seem to have stopped,the calendar always continues racing ahead.
We are all born to die.What happens after that is the subject of considerable controversy.But whatever it is,we are certain it is going to happen,and that it will almost certainly be different from whatever we know today.