I’m seated on an uncomfortable chair against the back wall in a studio session. An Alt-Folk-Bluesey band is recording. They sound good. I’m supervising the session, but there’s no time like the present to action a task that has been on my back burner for MONTHS!

The specific task, is writing this thought I had about why I feel each successive year, seems to pass faster than the previous.

I remember when I was in primary school… perhaps seven or eight years young…

“Mum, can I play at my friends after school?”

“Yes. But only for an hour.”

An hour? A WHOLE HOUR!!! When I was seven, I could create a whole world and destroy it in an hour. It was forever. So why is an hour such an insignificant measure of time in comparison today?

My theory is that as one grows older, and life becomes routine, the more time one experiences in a state of trance, surrendering to an automated, subconscious competency of day to day tasks. And it is in this trance state, that could contribute to the sensation that time is flying by.

Ever been in a trance when driving somewhere local? Zoning out on public transport? Out Dancing?

As a child one has more to learn about the world, and day to day tasks to learn. As a result one is more likely to be present in the moment, experiencing it with an engaged, conscious mind, attaining new information.

An hour can still feel like a day, as an adult, sure, but proportionately, we may be more often in trace, than our younger selves.

So, I suppose a way to prolong the experience of time would be to increase a desire to inject flexibility and change into routine (while maintaining them in a sustainable fashion), try new things and become aware of trance moments, pulling focus into the present… And perhaps, eventually… create a world in an hour!