525,600 Minutes

Time is a human construct.
Nature doesn't mark time 
with arbitrary numbers 
on the face of a clock.
Trees don't count their rings
or worry if they'll be wiped out by a storm.
Animals don't celebrate birthdays;
they don't contemplate age,
growing old, or nearing death.
They just live.
Humans are the exact opposite.
We are always measuring time,
counting forward to some milestone
or back to some remembered moment.
We start in childhood,
wanting to grow up
while our parents count how fast time flies.
We keep time for appointments,
and schedule everything,
whether for work or pleasure.
We even count down the seconds
to begin each new year.
There are 525,600 minutes in a year.
On my next birthday,
I will have lived for 36,792,000 minutes.
It's mind boggling to think about.
It seems a very long time,
when in reality 
it's the blink of an eye.
I think it's time to stop counting
and take a lesson from nature.
Let's just live.

~Elise Skidmore ©2023