Time

"Ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Picking around on a piece of ground in your hometown,
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you'll find 10 years have got behind you
No one told you when to run; You've missed the starting gun.

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way,
The time is gone, this song is over, thought I'd something more to say."

--Pink Floyd, "Time"

Take a moment to think about what you've just read. What practical implication does it have in my life? "No one told you when to run; You've missed the starting gun--" Have I lived my life to it's fullest potential? Our entire education system in America is geared toward preparing for a future, a future that begins at some unknown date. We are told to do our schoolwork and complete our projects to enhance our ability to deal with this future--once it gets here. Because of this, students at all levels miss out on a very important concept. Life doesn't start when you get a career, when you have a family, when you pay taxes; life is NOW!
I remember very vividly a baseball game 6 years ago. I was 12 years old, playing third base. It was a morning game; the sun was at my back, and I felt it warming my neck. The sky was a light, brittle blue, with sparse cotton candy clouds overhead. My glove, broken in perfectly, felt like an extension of my left hand. As I stood and surveyed the scene, drinking it in like smooth hot chocolate, I remember thinking something that had never crossed my mind before. "Hold onto this moment! Don't wish it away! Someday you'll be as old as your brother and will have to decide on college and leave home. You won't have time to play baseball then, and you'll be too busy to enjoy life like you do now. Don't wish for more responsibilities, more freedom. They'll come in time. For now, just play baseball!" We all should adopt such an attitude about life.
I am in no way, however, advertising myself as perfectly content and patient at all times. Halfway through this post, I realized that I ironically fast-forwarded through the 2 1/2 minutes of introduction to "Time" just so I could get to the words and copy them down. Why would Pink Floyd record that 2 1/2 minute intro if it wasn't of vital importance to the theme of the song? Through this time period, the Floyd alternates between two chords, E and F#m. Once in the 2 1/2 minutes, an A chord is thrown in. It's so simple, so mundane--at first glance. Upon further examination, the song builds up from nearly nothing, gaining momentum without increasing tempo thanks to increased subdivision from percussion and added stylistic flair in guitar backgrounds. So what's the point? Simply this: the introduction of the song is just like the beginning of life. It seemingly exists for only one purpose: to build up to or prepare for the lyrics, a.k.a. a job or family. In actuality, this time is just as important as the remaining 4 1/2 minutes. One's youth doesn't "build up to" anything; it is equally important to adulthood and must be lived out to its fullest potential.
Another story from my youth: I remember thinking that if I ran hard enough toward the sunset, it would never disappear. This does, after all, make sense in theory. But logic soon put an end to my daydreams. This is not to say, however, that one's life should be ruled by logic. Daydreams and creativity play a huge role in childhood, and are very healthy to mental development. Why doesn't this trend carry through into adulthood? Instead, logic overwhelms the playfulness and beauty of young age. Supposedly logic is superior to imagination. Again I ask, why? Most people forget that both logic and imagination are creations of man. Aristotle was a mere man, and he is responsible for creating the basic framework of our current logic system. I maintain that logic and imagination should share equal parts in adulthood. But I digress. I believe I was speaking of my naive assumption that I could chase the sun. Even if I dedicated my life to this goal, the sun wouldn't change--but I would. My body would grow old, and I would definitely become "shorter of breath." We struggle in vain for so many transient things, but never realize that our life is slipping away without leaving a positive mark on the world.
I have very little else to say. I've spent my time wisely on this posting, because hopefully it will convince others to make good use of their lives. We don't start living later, we already have!

P.S.: Simply put, "Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way" is one of the best lyrical phrases ever. Thank you, Pink Floyd!