Time

Another day has gone by. Another 24 hours has elapsed, come and gone, passed us by, run away. However we see time, we cannot deny that it passes. And what happened in the space of that day? All too often, we are entirely unaware of the passage of time. We just let it all slip away and fall apart behind us. But as time flows, the world around us changes. Things happen, people come into and leave our lives, we grow older, and the seasons shift. Even if we lose track of the time that has gone, we cannot have it back.

Maybe we don't always realize what happened around us. We don't see the heart that was just broken in the next room, we don't hear the mother grieving the loss of her child across the street. We don't know these things. If they only happened in the lives of strangers, it would be fine, it would be easier, and we would accept them and let them go. But time doesn't just change the lives of those we aren't familiar with...it also changes the lives of those around us, and our lives as well.

Sometimes it's a single word that changes everything. Other times it's a prolonged silence. We have no way of knowing how what we do or don't say, or do, affects those around us. Some days we can see the pain clearly written on their faces; others, they hide it from the world. A simple smile can change the world, and it inevitably does. History as we know it is made up of big events--wars, invasions, disasters, plagues. But underneath all of that, it's just people. Every single person is living their life at this moment, thinking a thought, making a decision.

When we realize that there are six billion of us on the planet, in this instant, doing something, the sense of awe is incredible. Suddenly, we're not alone sitting on a couch, staring into a computer screen. We are surrounded by so many others doing exactly the same thing, even though we may not see them, may not know who they are. There's something about that which really makes the concept of humanity hit home. Because in the end, that's what it all comes down to, that's what we all share: we are human.