March of Time

How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?

By Andrew R. Duckworth

I often think about how much time I have left. Perhaps it is an odd thing to think of at 38. But if it is one thing that I know it is that someday I will take my last step, my last breath, and then the rest of the world will keep on. Most won’t even realize my absence, but I’ll cease to be in this plane of existence. The only thing that will remain will be what I leave behind—words, deeds, materials, all of it left at the floor of this life. I’ll only be felt by the way I made others feel when I was here—words and deeds.

The older I get, the more I think about it. Perhaps it is the fact that time never stops to let us catch up. At some point, my appointed time will come, whether I’m ready to cross the finish line or not. While I know I’m in no way unique in this, when the time comes I’ll be the only one experiencing life’s last moments. Perhaps it’s the most lonely a person can be—those last moments. Others can hold your hand, but they won’t be traveling with you and you’ll know it. You’ll cross alone.

We watch death all the time—canceled shows, songs that never play on the radio anymore, friends and family… someday, we’ll see an old radio in our attic and remember when it once worked.