The Passage of Time

Over the weekend I got to see a friend from my undergraduate college days in Fort Worth, Texas. The last time I saw my Salvadorean friend was 32 years ago. As soon as I saw him, it felt as if time had both stood still and moved fast forward at warp speed. I had only seen a few vague recent pictures of him, but there was no mistaken my friend. A gentle, quiet person with a ready smile and warm, intelligent eyes, I was looking at the middle aged man my young college friend had become with the undeniable passage of time. When I was younger I was under the erroneous impression that older people understood better the mysteries of life with that passage of years and time. Being middle aged myself now, I realize that is just not so. The incoming grey hair and appearance of wrinkles only make it look like we know what the hell we are doing. Inside I feel still 27, and perhaps that is where the puzzlement comes. Our hearts do not age, neither does our love for our friends and family, yet when we look in the mirror certain days, it takes all our effort not to take it down or run the other way. To me, with each passing year , the mystery of life only seems to deepen. It is a journey with no maps and no clear ETA as far as our final destination, which is a land from which no one returns no matter the claims or imaginings to the contrary. Cemeteries remain utterly quiet to this day, as far as I know.
My friend and I and my husband had a very nice visit together. We spent hours just talking, sharing and it truly felt like time ceased to exist. It was a wonderful feeling. Perhaps those are the only chances we have at cheating time, by spending time with friends and loved ones,sharing common goals and dreams, thereby forgetting time and its constraints. Destiny is another strange bedfellow. Is there such a thing? Some people weave into the fabric of our lives like bright coloured stitching. I have a friend in France and another in Morocco I have not seen in a lifetime, yet they have remained in my heart and soul and are very much part of my will to thrive , to keep believing in life, in love, in friendship across time and continents. In that sense, the passage of time has not taken the upper hand. These friends are a part of me, of my heartbeat and hope, of lessons learned, of dreams longing to still be fulfilled, of dignity triumphing in the face of sorrow and loss. I have always enjoyed science - fiction, because it explores the possibilities of both technology in the future and man's adaptability and resourcefulness intellectually and emotionally, whether it is in the face of a dystopian future or the marvel of a hopeful, peaceful future. One of the constants in the challenges in these scenarios, is the manipulation of time. Instant teleportation from one planet to another, traveling at dizzying warpspeed, parallel universes, reversal of time are all enthusiastically explored, much to the viewer or reader's delight. Modern communication has done incredible things in shortening the distance between humans across our planet. Instant messaging and access to video communications across the globe allow people to stay in touch and maintain connections that otherwise would be challenged with the demands of both distance and its controlling cousin, time. With patience, respect and an open heart and mind, I have deepened  friendships with people that are far away geographically speaking, yet feel as close as were they living in my town. Perhaps there is an aspect of illusion there, because there is nothing better than being there in person, but, there is a certain poetic beauty in communicating with someone dear to you that you know is far away and that you have not seen in a long time, and that you may not see again still in perhaps more years and time to come. Perhaps it is the poet and writer in me, but instead of finding the distance daunting, I have learned to embrace it with passion and optimism. In this case, too, then passage of time is at a disadvantage, because it always loses when it comes up against people who care about each other. The past can be a beautiful bridge to the future, where the present is patient and tenacious, shortening the distance with each communication, until that distance becomes almost irrelevant. The passage of time then becomes a smiling accomplice in sabotaging its premise to keep us prisoners of its laws that want us to believe that all things pass. All things do pass, but the love we share becomes part of our spirits that leave our bones behind when time catches up with us to go meet our friends again beyond the brilliance of the silent stars.