What are your thoughts on aging and passage of time?

[bladefd]

Does it ever make you a bit sad to know that the average human life is short, and time seems to fly by so fast? I feel like just yesterday I was a little kid with no responsibilities except to have fun. I had nothing to worry about, and everything came easy. That's no longer the case in my late-20s.

I feel nostalgia too often and bit sad to reflect back to my childhood. Where did it all go? Most of the kids I grew up with went different paths, have their own lives now, and I lost touch with most of them. I don't even know what sort of people they are now or what the hell they look like. There were many girls I had crushes on at different points in life, but who knows what happened to them? Many of them are probably married by now or in serious relationships. I have no idea about my teachers and professors - are they retired or still teaching or (god forbid) passed away?

It sometimes makes me sad to think back. I'm sure there are older people than me. What makes you be happy? What drives you to stay optimistic from day-to-day? How do you deal with nostalgia and aging?

[highwhey]

i feel similar to what you expressed, and i agree that time passes us by quick. i often think of my lifespan and those around me, it saddens me to think we live very little time and any of us can be gone in an instant.

this is why religion/faith has a lot of followers, it can be too much to accept the reality so having some sort of afterlife hope keeps us going.

i

[Draz]

Turning 27.

I noticed that everything that once matters to us gets cloudy, and the things that never once crossed our minds during our aging is all we truly live for (financial stability, a family, wife, kids, a home, cars).

When I was in HS I just wanted to know the answers to what I wanted to do in life for a career. I was too worried about what major to take and worried about the end goal in getting a degree that I forgot why were working towards this to begin with until you're aging and need to biologically reproduce and move on.

Nostalgia will ALWAYS bring people back. Have you noticed people born in the 90's will ALWAYS have something in common with one another? Whether it's TV shows or movies or major historic events we all are connected.

It sucks knowing my skin is going to no longer be at its best one day, that it'll look young and pure and one day dry and old. That's what I fear most.

[Ben Simmons 25]

It will get progressively faster in your 30s.

There are multiple reasons...

1) "Time pressure." In other words... a feel the need to get things done in your life by a certain time before the clock expires, to keep it brief. This is more of a year to year thing than it is a daily thing.

2) Your perception of time also speeds up because your brain absorbs new information at a much slower rate than when you were a child(this is the number one reason IMO.) Less things you experience are "new" and coupled with your brain absorbing it at a slower rate, you perceive time to move more quickly as you age.

Think of it this way... you're very experienced as you get into your 30's. When you're a child, everything, and I mean everything is brand new. It results in deeper physical storage impressions in your brain, when everything is new. When everything is familiar, your brain isn't going to waste resources by storing it to memory. As a loose explanation, that's the best I can offer.

And if you need proof of this... put yourself in a truly life or death situation. Your brain is going to be working on ****ing overdrive to keep you alive... and time is going to "slow down" as a result, as you perceive everything to be moving very slowly. It's a defense mechanism to keep you alive.

There are other reasons I didn't list, I've forgotten them, but those two are the biggies, especially #2.

[Ben Simmons 25]

FYI, your brain doesn't even finish forming until you're 25.

So... 25/26 is pretty much the starting point for the physical difference, and your perception difference is going to vary wildly from person to person, but late 20s, early 30s are typically the self realization.

[Prometheus]

3) The ever-decreasing ratio of any fixed time interval to the memory of "life thus far". When you're ten, you might remember roughly seven years of existing... and so the next year feels like one eighth of everything that has ever happened. When you're thirty-three, the next year feels like a relatively short period of time.

[RoseCity07]

I figure by the time I'm old enough to die of natural causes I'll be ready to die.

It doesn't matter if we lived to be a 1000. At age 999 it would feel as though it all went by fast. It's because each passing year is a smaller fraction of your life.

Just accept we're here for a short time and try to enjoy it. Maybe you'll be back here the same way that you got here before.

[oh the horror]

I was just having this convo with a friend. In April I

[AlternativeAcc.]

Time goes slower when you work hard and challenge yourself. Being uncomfortable and having long fulfilling days can nullify that feeling of time flying by.


And it also makes you happier in the long run to be productive at work or with your business and with relationships.

[Norcaliblunt]

Lol. Wtf? Really a topic on aging and dying, and what our thoughts are? How original. I think the intro to this Eminem song sums it up...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y9FBhlL3NZE

[diamenz]

life stinks. get used to it.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

Excellent thread, OP!


As of now at peace---Alhamdullilah.

Allah has power to give you eternal life.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

i feel similar to what you expressed, and i agree that time passes us by quick. i often think of my lifespan and those around me, it saddens me to think we live very little time and any of us can be gone in an instant.

this is why religion/faith has a lot of followers, it can be too much to accept the reality so having some sort of afterlife hope keeps us going.

Did you even think this one out, Alan?

Or maybe just maybe ...God actually created us with a DESIRE to want to live forever and has the POWER to grant us eternal life if we do good on the test of this worldly life.

Every human being on the face of the planet wants to live forever and experience true happiness forever---and this world is just a sample of it that can`t satisfy anybody`s yearning soul.

And what do you know about the reality, Alan?

Do you honestly think that people of Ancient Egypt, Vikings, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Ba'hais and other faiths with UNANIMOUS CONSENSUS believe in a life to come---are liars looking for comfort? Does that even make sense--? Does it make sense when it`s clear there is not only a Paradise but a Hell for wrongdoing that`s pain is unimaginable and that most people will go there? Do you honestly think that 124,000 holy men of the highest character (Prophets) from Adam (PBUH) to Muhammad (PBUH), including Jesus (PBUH) spoke about heaven and hell in different time periods and nations?


Alternatively, perhaps the thought of burning in a lake of fire is so frightening that it`s more comforting to the soul to deny it altogether?

Do you honestly think that genocidal people like Hitler/Stalin get to pass away and enjoy a peaceful dirt nap while selfless people getting shot up in houses of worship or starving kids have the same exact ending?

That as an insult to God.

EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. you WITNESS thousands of life species like plants and animals born and alive in the spring after the cold, icy death of winter. It is easy for God to resurrect us.

The reality is that we will be recompensed for our deeds on Earth on the Day of Reckoning.

[Prometheus]

The concept of an eternal hell is an insult to God.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

The concept of an eternal hell is an insult to God.

There are infinite crimes warranting infinite punishment out there like kufr and shirk.