Sunday, September 20, 2009

time flies

time.

arrives.
passes.
is.

and there are measures of time.

the note of anxiety in my daughter's voice when she sees the very obvious effects that time is having on me -
i am not staying the same.
there are wrinkles appearing on my face.
there are more and more grey hairs on my head.
there are fewer hairs on my head than there used to be.
all observed and noted by her!

what's nice about time is that it allows me to place events.

with its passage,
life becomes a longer moment experienced -
a longer moment that gives meaning and context to experiences
that would have once been daunting
but which now are matter-of-fact.

"it'll pass", i can say with conviction.

i have also noticed that as i get older i'm more sensitized to the small moments.
i appreciate tiny details that are fleeting,
even negligible
and yet extraordinary in their richness
once my attention is turned to them.

for that reason i love time-lapse photographs and films.
they allow me to experience what occurs over a period of time
and in that experiencing is revealed a sort of loveliness
that is otherwise lost in its slow unfolding.

a really fine example of this was recently shared by the citizen watch company at the baselworld show.

i hope that you enjoy this as much as i did . . .

20 comments:

Kathleen said...

The time lapse was amazing! Thanks for sharing it.

I, too, like that understanding in my marrow that "it'll pass" is truth.

With a bit more sprigs of white in the hair comes fewer moments of existential angst. Painful joints, yes, but much less worry about outer appearances. I like that.

Speaking of appearances, I like how you've spruced up the place. Fun to make a change, isn't it?

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

I feel like these days I am living in a bit of a time warp...but the warp is ever present...the moments become magnified because they hold more, because I am more mindful of my surroundings...This way I am making time...Oh Hallelujah...some good has to come out of this aging thing we are stuck in...

Happy days full of joy

steven said...

hi kathleen - i am so glad you enjoyed it as well!! the place needed a bit of a change to reflect the change in feeling inside of me and then too, the changes outside.
painful joints - got 'em this morning, a few more white hairs? oh there are almost certainly a few more!!!! but knowing that i have a wiser, gentler approach to life - well i'll take that!!!! have a lovely day kath, steven

steven said...

delwyn - you nailed that exactly. time slows to almost non-existence when you're inside the moment. the moment enlarges to become all and everything. the sensory and emotional experience of that moment is massive! it's the great goodness at the confluence of maturity and care and wisdom. have a lovely evening by the river delwyn. steven

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Hi Steven:

Yes, time brings its inevitable changes. I find time seems to flit by so much faster as I age UNLESS I am truly present - then it slows down into the exquisite, eternal now.

Phew - the time lapse film was quite amazing. The first part of it reminded me for some strange reason of 9/11, and I found myself wishing the twin towers could have magically flown back together again as illustrated in the film. Funny, it left me with a bit of an edgy feeling.

Your new look is great - but of course I would say that because it looks very much like my blog now. Thanks for the compliment!! :)

ellen abbott said...

good morning steven. I remember the day my daughter noticed that I was getting some gray hair. 'I'm not sure I like that', she said to me. As if she noticed for the first time that I was truly getting older. somehow it seemed it was natural for her to grow up but not for me to grow old. I like what Kathleen said, trading wrinkles for angst. I'm good with that. Time passes, the long slow summer that I thought would never end has given way to September which is whizzing by. What's the hurry?

hope said...

Being one of those people who love "the rest of the story", I've been fascinated by time lapse stuff since I was a kid! Watching a flower go from bud to bloom before my eyes seemed like magic.

There's a program here called "Time Warp" on the Discovery Channel which slows down "normal" things into super slow motion. It's amazing what happens faster than the human eye can catch it. Just watching what happens when an arrow pierces a balloon is like ballet. [You might be able to find some clips if you google it].

As for the gray hairs, my younger siblings think it most unfair that I'm adding gray hairs slower. But it's okay that the gray ones are beginning show up. I have baby fine hair and the gray ones are thicker...yeah!

Have a great week!

Golden West said...

Hi Steven,

My mom has always said, "This too shall pass". My dad, ever pragmatic, still says, "If you could get up out of bed, you're having a great day". I try not to worry about things I can't control, like the passage of time, and focus on the things I can control, like my attitude. Although I'll never have an affect on the world at large, I expect all the spring bulbs I've planted over the years to keep flowering (or providing sustenance for the gophers!) long after I'm gone!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Time - ah yes steven - it passes - increasingly quickly I find. It is such a strange thing isn't it. Events which happened years ago are fresh in our minds but then we look in the mirror and see how time has etched the years on our faces. (I try not to look at myself in the mirror too often!)

steven said...

Barry said (but I blew it off by accident so I'm posting it here on his behalf!! sorry Barry!)

I'm not certain I'd want to live in those buildings that fly apart and fall back together again so joyfully, but the slow-motion capture was outstanding.

Interestingly the more you slow down the camera, the faster the world seems to speed up.

steven said...

hi bonnie - i'm reading a book for young adults about the 9/11 incident and so it is fresh in my mind and when i dropped this video in there was one scne - the perspective i think - that made me reflect on that whole piece. the blog appearance - brought on by chance but necessary as there are no accidents only hidden intentions!!!! have a peaceful day. steven

steven said...

ellen!! yes kath's comment was dead-on - i'm alright with slowness, with some features of physical aging, because the pay off is a comfort level with life that grows each day. have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hi hope - there's an unspoken piece between my bruvver and i regarding hair loss. i still have a really nice head of hair, while his started to wash and melt away at a much earlier age! hurray for me says i!!!!
i'll be looking up the clips for "time warp". thanks for the link!!!! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hi golden west - i like the idea of leaving what we can for whatever comes after us. i'd like to leave a sense of goodness, a well-cared for home, a whole pile of people who are better off for my presence, and a nice garden for the bugs and chipmunks to hang out in!!! have a lovely evening. steven

steven said...

hello weaver - i don't look in the mirror. i have proof in the poor shaving job and badly organized hair i take with me each day!!!!! lovely to see you here. have a peaceful evening in the dale. steven

Eryl said...

I still remember the first time I saw time lapse photography and couldn't quite comprehend but loved it nonetheless. I still love it, and that example was amazing, thanks.

steven said...

hi eryl, thanks so much for dropping by and for your comment. i can't remember the first i saw, the first i remember are timelapse films of flowers unfolding. it all amazes me no matter what the subject matter because it's technically clever and then also makes me realize how much i miss!!! have a lovely evening. steven

BT said...

Hello Steven, I'm doing a catch up after my holiday. That time lapse film is amazing. I love the way the buildings fly apart and then re-assemble like a jigsaw. It also reminded me of the twin towers. A moment that will live with us all forever.

I think I am a much better person now, much kinder and more caring. I like to hope so. My photography helps me capture beauty and moments and I really do savour them - another advantage of the passing years.

steven said...

oh hi again bt!!! i'm glad you enjoyed the film as much as i did! age does make us better people - i'm sure of that!!! we savour, relish, enjoy, appreciate, and share so much more and better than we did when we were younger. right?!!! steven

Shaista said...

Dear Steven, you haven't started saying "this too shall pass" have you? My grandmother always says that :)
Time lapse captured on film such as nature documentaries are wonderful, but i am never sure whether they are right or wrong teachings for us - it teaches impermanence on the one hand, but on the other, teaches impatience. Knowing all things must change, how can we train ourselves to wait for the parts we want to change?
Typical young person question! :)
I love the Rilke poem in the last post. Pure genius.