How long is a piece of string?

It's been said by some that time is a mere human

 construct,

a term that humans use to define a ''continued sequence 

of existence and events that occurs in an apparently 

irreversible succession from the past, through the present 

and into the future''.

The most ''direct knowledge we have of time

 is subjective'', and as such, time moves only in one direction:

onward/forward.

How we experience time however, well that's

a totally different thing.

For example:

Sitting in a dentist chair having a root canal done

we may experience time as passing very slowly.

Having a good time with friends we may experience

time as flying by.

Being engrossed in an activity we really enjoy(flow)

we may experience time as non-existent.

In short, ''clock-time'' is measurable whereas time

as we experience/perceive with our minds, is not.

With our minds we can ''travel'' back in time,

imagine all sorts of events taking place in the future,

and or be firmly present in the present.

According to clock-time however, regardless of how

we may experience time, it moves only in one direction:

forward.

-How long is a piece of string? asked the child.

-Very, very long child, longer than you can

imagine, answered the grand-father.

-How long is a piece of string? asked the teenager.

-Very long, son, so long one cannot see the end of it,

answered the grand-father.

-How long is a piece of string? asked the man.

-Reasonably long, son, answered the grand-father.

-How long is a piece of string? the man asked himself

as they lowered his grand-father into the ground.

Sitting in his grand-father's chair later in the evening

the man noticed a sealed envelope with his name

written on it on the side table next to the chair.

Carefully he opened the envelope.

Inside of it was a piece of string and hand 

written note.

''Dear Lukas,

how long is a piece of string?

Life is like a piece of string.

At the beginning of life the string seems

endless but as life and time passes, 

it becomes a little shorter each day.

I'm telling you this so that you will

value and treasure each moment of your

life so that when you know how long

your piece of string is, it will not

fill you with fear but with gratitude.

Know that I have loved all the times

we have spent together,

grampa

''Aging is not an option, nay, it is a privilege.

Therefore we need to treasure each moment

of time allotted unto us.''

(Citizen Z)

about the image: acrylic on large canvas