Compared to the life spans of eras and civilizations, human lives don't amount to much more than the rapid flickers of a film reel. The range of history is staggering, its progression inexorable.

Popular wisdom holds that our lives are so terrifyingly short, and that we should effectively scramble to do as much as we can to leave a mark on the vast document of recorded human experience. There is so much to do, and we can't reset the hourglass of existence. Get it in gear! Go, go, go!

Consider, though: are our lives really that short?

Impatience seems to be the implied mandate our generation lives by. We must have what we want now, we must do things now, we must act on our feelings now. We justify our irreverent desire for immediate gratification (or unrelenting, unreasonable sentiment) with the now-clichéd adage, "Life is short."

Look at your watch, or at a clock. Count sixty seconds along with it. Then another sixty. And another. Do nothing else but count. Keep going for as long as you can stand it. Sooner or later, you'll quit, and when you do, consider: did all that time really feel short? Or did you stop because it was taking too long?

The flow of time is reliant on your standpoint. Forget physics for now -- I'm speaking of lay experience. If you place your life alongside that of an institution, a city or a similar temporal landmark, you will feel frail, guaranteed. If you count your experiences against the unstoppable march of generations, you will feel meager, without a doubt. Thing is, that's not everything.

Stop and watch the sunset. Look at the clouds moving over your head, and listen to the wind in the trees. Focus exclusively on the seconds. The minutes. The hours. Be aware of every moment. Bear witness to the steady current, not the raging waterfall, of time.

We work hard to make the most of the present. I have no quarrel with that philosophy -- it's true that we stand to gain much if we do. My concern is that sometimes we either overdo it, giving ourselves no respite, or misunderstand it, mistakenly assuming reckless impatience to be an application of carpe diem.

Breathe deeply, and look around. Clear your mental timetable for a moment, and pay attention to your senses. There is more than enough time to live a full life. The point is to see things the right way.

Life is, indeed, short. But only if you want it to be.

[First published by Perspective, DLSU - College of St. Benilde]