Time Flies Like an Arrow—Why Does Time Seem to Speed Up with Age?

"Half the year is already over."
Many people say this as they get older.

They are not as busy as they were in their working years.
In fact, their days flow quite leisurely.
And yet,
a week, a month, and a year
feel like they pass much faster than when they were young.

Why is this?

◇ It cannot be explained by the "proportion of life" alone

In psychology,
often"Janet's Law"is introduced.
One year for a five-year-old is one-fifth of their life.
One year for an eighty-year-old is one-eightieth of their life.

The idea is that because the proportion of one's total life becomes smaller,
a year feels shorter.

There may certainly be some truth to this.
However, that alone feels somewhat insufficient.
This is because we do not live our lives calculating these proportions.

◇ In reality, "memory" creates time

When we were young, life was a series of first-time experiences.
First school. First job. First love. First time raising a child...
The brain records these in detail.
That is why, when looking back,
a year feels very long.

On the other hand, as we reach old age, life settles down,
and every day follows a calm rhythm.
Because of this,
the brain reportedly summarizes a year into a single memory.

Looking back,
"It went by in a flash."
is what it seems to become.

◇ However, the problem is not the length of time

Here, I am reminded of
the words of psychologistAdler.

"Life is limited.
However, it is long enough to be worth living."

The length of life itself does not have great meaning,
and the problem,he says, is how we use the time we are given.

What we think about today,
who we spend it for,
and with what kind of heart we spend it.

The value of life is determined by the accumulation of these things.

◇ Erikson looked at "life" rather than "time"

Gerontological psychologist Erikson
expressed the final task of life
with the words "integrity" and "despair"
.

For those who can look back on their life
and think, "I lived well,"
time flows with a quiet sense of fulfillment.

On the other hand,
if you are left only with regrets of
“I wish I had done that,”
the time that has passed becomes a burden.

Even at the same age of eighty,
and even within the same year,
the quality of the time that flows is completely different.

Even if the clock moves at the same speed,
the time of the heartis vastly different.

◇ “Time flies like an arrow” is not a sorrow

The ancients said,
“Time flies like an arrow.”
I do not think this is a phrase
lamenting that time passes quickly.

It is likely a warning
that because time is limited,
we must not squander the day that is today.

When we are young, we live chasing the future.

Old age is the era to cherish the past, savor the present, and quietly nurture the remaining future
.

That is why, even if time flows quickly,
life does not become shallow.
Rather, it becomes deeper.

Old age may not be the era to count time,
but the era to savor time.

◇ Master Masahiro Yasuoka speaks of old age
as follows—

“When a person has a spouse and children, knows friends, interacts with many people, and reaches a certain age,

finally they begin to
understand the true meaning of learning and seeking the path.

And so, one cannot become authentic without aging, but by the time one becomes authentic, it is already the end of life. This contradiction is the tragedy of humanity.
”
I think the truth of old age is condensed in these words.

The older a person gets, the faster they feel the flow of time. However,


only around that time,

do they begin to see little by little what it means to be human and what life is.
Old age is not simply an era where time decreases. It is also the era when life deepens the most.

Aging is not the loss of time. It is the weight of each day quietly deepening.