Measuring time

The summer is coming to a close and in the natural world the signs of decay accelerate with each day. We are reminded constantly of the passage of time. We measure it with a watch or even in the woods as the rain lands on tree leaves, the sound being reminiscent of a ticking clock. Try listening the next time you get caught in the rain in the woods without a brolly.

Elizabeth I as she lay dying, cried out: "All my possessions for one moment in time!" What use are material things in the next realm, she must have wondered.

Like nature, we are decaying: the greying hair, the creaking knees, the crinkled skin but worst of all, the detachment that an ageing soul encounters, a disinterest, a bitterness that runs through veins like vinegar. Time is measured not just by the reflection in the mirror but inside one's heart.

 

Photo copyright SvD.