Perception of time.

Most of us experience the phenomenon of time seeming to speed up as we get older. When you’re young the days seem to stretch out forever. I can still recall endless summers spent exploring the fields and woodland out the back of our house growing up, or holidays at the beach, a constant source of excitement and adventure. These days, by comparison, it can feel like a year passes in the blink of an eye.

A recent podcast I listened to explained scientists’ current understanding of this phenomenon: when we’re young, our lives are full of novel experiences. We’re constantly doing things for the first time, so our experience of time becomes marked by these occasions. When we’re doing all these new things, time seems to go by quickly, but when we look back on it it feels like a long, significant period. But as we age, we have fewer and fewer of these waypoints by which to mark the passing of time and so when we look back at the past few years they seem to blend together. It’s one reason why Covid seemed at the time like an interminable age, but when we look back on it can have the feeling of a distant dream. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to trivialise the experiences of those who suffered badly or lost loved ones. But for many of us lucky enough to pass the period relatively uneventfully, although not without its challenges, there were far fewer shared experiences to reminisce about.

I’m no scientist, and this probably isn’t the best or most accurate summary. But it’s an idea that has stayed with me. I often worry I’m not making the most of my finite time on this planet and go through phases of booking various events to try and fill my time with memorable experiences: family trips, gigs, cultural experiences and such. But constantly seeking novelty isn’t a sustainable way to live. I have a theory that memorable experiences can also come from looking at the world in a different way. Observing what’s around us and tying to see it from a different perspective. Letting new ideas in and giving them the room to grow. Being fully present in the moment. Music, art, writing or simply talking with friends (especially ones whose lives are different from ours) can all help us see the world anew, as can learning. Walking down the same street is a new experience when you learn its history. The same woodland becomes a new place when you learn about the native birds that reside there. Opening our hearts and minds doesn’t halt the ticking of the clock, but it means we can look back on time spent knowing that we really experienced it.