Proof of Life

Proof of Life

What happened in your life on this day a year ago? I'll ask an easier one: What did you do last Saturday? For some, it is impossible to answer the first. But most would have some recollection of what they did last weekend, though with a little bit of difficulty, sometimes.

All good scientists, especially astronomers know this: If you did not write it down, it did not happen. Where is the "proof" that you have lived through all the experiences that you went through in your life?

People often say how fast time flies. A week goes by just like that. Why? Time seems to go faster because there is nothing to differentiate one day from another. You think back of the week that has just gone by: what is it that is different on Thursday compared to Wednesday? If everyday is not a new unique experience, then the mind does not register any crests or troughs-- the whole week is like one long flat day. That's why it flew by just like that. Time is a strange thing indeed. I wrote about how different people experience time differently in a previous blog entry.

Sometimes when we take a 3-days 2-nights tour package, we often feel at the end of the trip that so much has happened within that short span of time--which is essentially just the length of one weekend. This is because our intinerary is fully packed with activities and you associate every hour and day with a different place and experience. In the end, it feels like one long trip. That's why sometimes we say, it has been a long day.

Every day that seems mundane can be unique if we choose to make it so. Every second that ticks by is gone forever--our life is like a cigarette that is constantly burning out. Soon we will end up with just a useless stub. It is a morbid way of viewing life but it can be useful to think in this way sometimes when we are procrastinating or wasting away our time.

We can also take a more positive view: every second we are growing and learning something new. As I type these words, I am discovering truths that I myself might not have fully recognized. I am a better person now compared to a couple of minutes back when I first started writing this posting.

And I have "proof" that on this time and date, I lived, I learned and I experienced this moment of my life.