so are the days of our lives. And no, not so much for way to work wednesday...today was while not at work wednesday, and as I was out wandering through South Park I found an hourglass. Hourglasses are something I NEVER think about except maybe when playing a board game or when channel surfing past the opening credits for Days of Our Lives (which, just for the record, I do not watch), but having come across this simple and mesmerizing object I'm surprised I haven't ever considered its zen-ness. Huh, turns out the hourglass is a universal symbol for death. The hourglass was often depicted on pirate flags where it symbolised the fact that human existence is fleeting, and in England hourglasses were sometimes placed in coffins to symbolise the fact that the "sands of time" had run out. In literature, references to time measuring devices can represent death.

I'm thinking that it's no accident then that I have just taken notice of this object. No worries, I'm not dying any quicker than anyone else so far as I know, but I have recently been considering my own mortality. I think a lot about regret (hoping to die with little as possible) and what I should change in my life to achieve a better balance of happiness. I also feel time differently than I used to. I think it's because I now have a child. I measure time every week, every month, and every year much more closely than I ever have. I'm watching him grow, I talk about him growing and I'm asked about his progress almost everyday. Ironically, on New Year's Eve my sweetie gave me a watch for our nine year wedding anniversary. So for the first time in probably about eight or so years I'm also wearing time, everyday. Yep, I think it all makes sense.

Want one too? Here's a wacky site selling sand timers, however, I got mine at Isda & Co, No. 19 South Park only two left.