Here's an interesting paradox about life, it can be short and long at the same time, depending on how one chooses to look at it. Even within a specific and clearly defined context, the same paradox can be discerned.
For example, if you're faced with a deadline at work, the time leading up to it can feel agonizingly short, with a sense of urgency to get everything done.
Yet, looking back on that same period, it may have felt quite lengthy, filled with countless hours of effort and stress.
If you're like me, then you'll mostly prefer to view life as a long journey, full of surprises, both good and bad.
Of course, this is in no way implies that viewing life as short and fleeting is wrong, bad or less meaningful.
For the most part, I think these are concepts that transcend the duality of right or wrong. It's impersonal and through a personal perspective can we ascribe such terms.
Death also falls into that category, with his sister sleep - both inevitable and yet deeply personal experiences.
An Unsolvable Moderation Challenge
The paradox of life being both short and long can be seen as another lens to view the complexity of the human experience.
Here too, we find a moderation challenge between living each day with a sense of urgency yet also maintain a long-term perspective and appreciation for the journey.
Being so engrossed into the present, because so many things seem to be happening all at once, we inadvertently develop a sense of urgency on most of the things we do, which I kind of appreciate because it's analogically like increasing the fire you're using to cook a meal.
What I mean by that is, just like turning up the heat can speed up the cooking process, this heightened sense of urgency will over time sharpen our reflexes and compel us to make quicker, more decisive moves as opposed to being paralyzed by indecision or bogged down in endless deliberation, especially in a fast paced world.
From my point of view, despite my preference of a long view on life, I still have to acknowledge the reality of our fast-paced, information-saturated modern existence.
And this is where I tend to mess things up, in the sense that I always struggle to find an anchor, a steady point of reference amidst the never ending currents of urgency.
It's all too easy to get swept up in the frenzy, to let that sense of urgency dictate my every move and decision, becoming so hyper-focused on the short-term and urgent tasks and deadlines that everything else falls on the way side, neglecting important areas of my life that require a more measured, patient approach.
I do wonder if both views, short and long, can coexist within the same individual at the same time or place, or must one give way to the other, even if it's momentarily?
So much for cultivating moderation against the backdrop of an existence that's marked by constant flux and uncertainty, where the only constant is change itself, and the future is always unpredictable.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.