TIME: Past, Present, Future (PPF)

Imagined with Meta.ai

It was a cold Tuesday evening,my week had started off on a wrong foot and I was in a very sour mood. The week had literally just started and I couldn't already wait for it to end because I was emotionally downcast,physically and mentally drained. As I lay on my bed,my eyes locked on the ceiling,I started having flashbacks of past events,my mind rigmaroled and conjured up scenes of how best I could have handled some situations,words I should have said but didn't get the chance to, people I lost and should have spent more time with, people I should never have given closure,how each of my decisions (good or bad) has affected me presently and then again,the endless opportunities, possibilities and most probably difficulties the future might hold. To be honest,it was pure chaos in my head.

Imagined with Meta.ai

I was caught in a web of past and present events with my imaginations steadily working to weave a near perfect picture of the future. I picked up my phone, desperate to escape the war my thoughts were waging against my subconscious and I struck up a conversation with a friend of mine (unknown to me,we were in like moods). As our dialogue progressed,she asked, "what would you sacrifice to get your hands on the perfect life?". I told her that life isn't perfect so one might end up sacrificing his/her self, leaving this world behind and hoping your actions would allow you reside in a place where perfection is guaranteed. I,in turn asked her what she would sacrifice to attain perfection and she simply said, "TIME".

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I can't say I was shocked at her response because as a matter of fact, everyone secretly or openly yearns for perfection,for everything and everyone around them to be just how they want or need them to be, literally for every event,incident or occurrence to fall into place without much hassle. I do agree with her because time is never enough. It's ironic how some days feel so long yet time always feels so short,how time runs slowly yet passes by quickly,how time always seems to be present but never on our side,how time moves with us but never waits for us,how time is seemingly at peace with us yet always against us. In the end,it's so heartbreaking that time lost can never be regained and we're left with a barrage of unanswerable questions that all begin with "what if's". What if I had said this instead of that?,what if I had done that instead of this?,what if......

Most times,when people think in relation to time,they always think about the past and present,not much thought unless later plans are really given to the future because believe it or not, people will always think about what they've done than things they're yet to do. The past gives birth to the present who then raises the future,these three phenomena are all dependent on and intertwined with each other,an incident must happen in the present which will later be considered a past occurrence in the nearest future. It's mind churning,isn't it?

Everybody often wishes they could take back the hands of time,add more numbers to the clock or even add more hours to the day,either way all aiming to get more time because there is always something we've done or said that we wish we could correct or take back but it's so unfortunate that words and actions just like time can't be retrieved and frankly even if our wishes to come true,I don't think it will keep time from flying. Like a sand clock,it will slowly but surely keep running.

Imagined from Meta.ai

When I was much younger,there was a movie I watched,I can't even remember the title but I do remember a few details that I'm going to relate because at the end,that movie gave me a moral lesson that I never forgot and I'm pretty sure I'll never forget.

The movie centered on a guy in a group of assassins,everyone of them had a unique signature way of eliminating their targets,one through poisonous toxins,a pair of brothers made theirs look like a robbery,the other butchered his victims for the fun of it and the main character (whose name I've also forgotten) made his killings look like an accident. They all served under one master,who happened to be the main character's mentor and foster father.

The main guy wanted out of this team,he had a girlfriend he wanted to get married to and he knew that he would never be able to start a family with the life he was living. He was the best assassin among them as he had started going on assignments from a young age and was the master's protege. They worried that if he got out, knowing too many secrets,he would eventually become a liability,they couldn't let him out,they had to eliminate him.

It became a dog eat dog world as one by one,every member of his gang came after him. Having spent years working alongside them,he was intelligent enough to study their techniques and cleverly avoided their traps,not just that,he succeeded in eliminating them as they came, unfortunately,the woman he loved got caught in the cross_fire (although it was more for her sins than his). It soon became a game of revenge and the quest for survival. In the end,he got the very freedom he craved but his master and foster father,the only one whom he left alive among the lot left him with these parting words; NEVER FORGET YOUR PAST,FOCUS ON YOUR PRESENT AND PLAN FOR YOUR FUTURE. I never forgot these words from that day.

It's safe to say that with the life he lived,he might never have peace but since he would never be able to take back time to correct his actions,he should always be ready for whatever, whenever and try to move on.

I'm going to conclude this by saying that no human being will ever be able to control the flow of time,just accept the time you're given and make the most of it. Remember what's important,hold on to what's necessary and let go of the rest that are irrelevant. Time,life and everything in between is bent on your PPF.

Thank you for reading.