Sean Dengler.

When I was a kid, I remember hearing older folks say to each other that as you get older, the years go by faster. As a kid, I did not think this was going to be the case as life always felt like everything would last forever. As an adult, I was wrong. Proven wrong like my other childhood beliefs, life flies by whether you like it or not.

Graduating from college feels like 10 seconds ago despite it happening over 10 years ago. Going back to the farm was five years ago, despite it feeling like five seconds ago. Whether it is the different changes of life like going from college to jobs to comedy stuff to now, everything comes and goes by quickly. A moment of crisis may have felt like it lasted 10 years, but looking back, it was a brief snippet. For better or worse, time flies by.

It is on us to effectively manage our time before it runs out. The swiftness of time puts life in perspective. While I feel and am still youthful in many ways, I still, non-ironically, get “kids these days” thoughts. This shows time has moved on without me. Every generation has experienced this issue. None of this is new, but it is important to keep life in perspective.

Father Time always wins, but it is up to us to know how to spend it. What can we do to make our lives better, and how can we make the time we have left worth it? That is the question. Life is about making decisions based on how much time we have in a day. This time will continue to fly by.

When we stack life events on each other, it provides a needed continuity. The moments in life which stand out are those of accomplishment and failure. Nothing feels better than graduating from college or running a business. Honestly, while failure stings, it stings because it creates a teachable moment. This helps improve oneself. Be it accomplishment or failure, these moments stick with us despite the speed of life.

When thinking about time, it always moves on. Humans cannot control it, and the years will continue to blend. This is okay because it is a human experience. What is most important is holding onto and remembering the moments which define our lives. At the end of the day, life moves fast but it is important to cherish those moments we can remember. Live in the moment and do the best we can do.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, now-retired beginning farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.