tangent the perception of time

I've been thinking about the passage of time.  In my teens and 20s, a decade seemed like a really long time. A project that would take a decade, be it learning something new, seriously improving a character trait, or accomplishing some project that would take a "long time," seemed like something overwhelming.  It seemed like something that it would be easier not to bother with, since the end goal was something so far away.

But now that I've been self-willed for almost 2 decades, I am at the tail end of long blocks of time.  Ten years have passed from more than one starting point that I was aware of.  To paraphrase the words of Yehuda (Bereshis 43:11), "Had we not delayed, we could have finished twice already."

When you are young, the projects seem daunting and the time seems too long and it doesn't feel like a decade is enough of a reality that it pays to embark.

But after 2 decades, it's been striking me lately how much time we have.  And how much we can do with that time.  If all goes well, I will have a few more decades.  And a decade is enough time to do some major things, make huge progress, complete grand schemes and gain tremendous clarity and knowledge in an area.  I won't be daunted.  I am old enough now to mentally grasp a decade.  When I was a child, a day was long.  A year was long.  An hour was long. 

Now, ten years is long.  But long in the sense that I can roll up my sleeves, dig in, and get some things done.

Here's to the future!