“Once upon a time,” memories fill my mind with past events woven with their own distinct emotions. Seconds wrapped in waves of the Atlantic crash upon my chest and my eyes well as I remember home, arid air sifting through my hair, warm rays penetrating through my already bronzed dermis as glands release glistening emeralds, pastry scents tickle my nose while the breath of my father fills my lungs and the endless chatter from my mother couple with echoes of laughter from my siblings to lasso my heart to decades ago. Segments of my childhood appear as slides on a movie screen upon my mind’s lens, as the present day moves on.
Time can be quantified; it takes the Earth 23hours and 56minutes to spin on its axis and 365.25 days to complete one revolution. As the days and years extend, reflection is our only gauge to measure the quality of time we have actively embraced. Each second carries a thought, an emotion, an experience, and a lesson… all of which will never be replicated nor repeated again, just like us the planet is evolving; the universe will give birth to new suns and Earth and its inhabitants will move in orbit with change. Photos hang and digital screens slide and we are locked in time as memories narrate the space we once occupied.
As a child I believed time was on my side and every birthday was not only a blessing but, for me, it was a point when I believed the hands of time would release me from the strict and stern hands my parents held me with. I’ve come to miss those parental hands that held warmth in their clasp; with hopeful presses that time would discipline me, gently. I’ve learned that as I move through this space, each breath measured is indicative of the happiness in my heart and the essence of time is patience. Time transitions us through stages, sometimes we rise and other times we fall, but we must not deter from the present, that is where the gift for the living lies. Therefore, we must stand in appreciation and move with the hands of time. Nothing is promised but that “once upon a time” there was a “Big Bang” in a vacuum where chance and chaos brought harmony. Thus, in the Now, do not rush nor repent, there is purpose in your living and only with patience and appreciation will you learn to find it. This is fulfillment, the only way you can live for eternity.
Dear Time,
I held you in my hands as I pedaled you upon the rocky terrain of my home across the blue Atlantic
I kissed you in the wind as I raced you upon the black asphalt on this foreign land
I dreamt of you among the distant stars in the orbits of unknown galaxies
Time, will you ever escape me?
For you are the rhythms that pulsates my heart to live and my flesh is your captive.
Time, this is my plea…
Give me the space to reminisce the years you’ve inscribed upon my memories
Allow sorrow to fill my soul when I cannot hold you
And please time, please, let happiness wrap arms of love around every void I’ve allowed you to leave
Time, will you ever let me expire?
Cause I want to live beyond the hands you carry me with
I want the days to rise in essence of my energy
And rest in the embers of my soul
So I may feel the rhythms and pulses of this universe in me
Time, set me free!
