Life - where did it go?

I find myself feeling quite old today.

Last night I sent off my application to return to university this autumn. As I re-read my application I realised it has been thirty years since I left school. Where did it all go? My last time at university was in the last century!!

I am often surprised to find the 80's (my twenties) were so long ago. Young faces are now middle aged members of the establishment, middle aged TV/film stars are now elderly or dead.

How do we allow time to drag us along, missing the views on the way? It's a little like sitting at the back of a train and only seeing the scenery once it has gone past. So many opportunities missed...

There are aspects of my life that I would certainly not want to repeat, but I don't believe you can look back and think "If I could do it again, I wouldn't do that" without losing many of the positive elements you've gained along the way.

I had an awful divorce that left my life in tatters.However, it created the circumstances that, years later, led me to meet my current wife. She is the best thing to ever happened to me, but I probably wouldn't have met her if I hadn't gone through the bad times first. It was only the negatives that caused me to be in the right place to meet her.  So, if I went back and avoided the bad times, I would almost certainly not be where I am now. Which is with someone very special.

I guess the point of this ramble is to say we're all products of all our experiences - good and bad. Yin & Yang is a very good illustration of this - you can't have dark without light, good without bad, etc. The next time I wonder where the years have gone I'll try to remember; they're all looking back at me in the mirror or in my writing.

Hopefully this makes some sense  - please feel free to give me your thoughts on the subject - even if you disagree!

Thanks

Neil