Today, I took the bus. I don’t usually, because I mostly drive where I need to go. But today it was easier and more convenient not to have to worry about parking.

The reason I’m telling this story is that I have a free bus pass. You know, for older people. Actually, anyone over 50 is called a ‘senior’ and is able to have free public transport. Thank you very much. Really.

I’m thinking, though, about how old I don’t feel!! Now that my back has stopped twinging, I’m feeling fine, active and loving life. And my grey hair is glorious!!

So, a message for young and younger-than me people, that you don’t need to fear aging. There’s a lot of freedom ahead in being older. And you know what you want more, as well as where you want to go. Whether you drive, fly, or take the bus 😉

Anyway, taking the bus isn’t so bad. I listened to music all the way. And I wrote this.

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I wrote the post above for my Instagram page. It’s a little reflection with motivational intent because many of my readers are young people. My journey with Instagram is one that began with a small piece of writing for a quite specific audience. The journey has lasted for a year now and I’ll happily continue. I don’t have a large following but I’m not looking for more. Those who find me are enough, and I find it interesting and rewarding to have an audience that crosses countries, languages and generations, too.

Thinking more, though, about time passing as we move through life … Well, it’s something we all think more about as we get older. It’s natural, of course. To ponder time passing as we get to the ‘final chapters’ of our life story. The apparent speeding up of time the closer our ‘expiry date’ gets. The wishing or hoping for more time, perhaps. Trying not to regret time ‘wasted’.

I think, too, that going through the covid pandemic experience has made us a little more aware, a lot more cognisant of what life means to us and how we want to spend our time. However much time that may be.

Of course, we have always known that our time is limited here, that we are human and that along with life comes death. But it’s as if we have all been given a wake-up call, a collective slap in the face, if you like. That even though we are here now, there’s no guarantee of tomorrow.

So, yes, time has become more meaningful and more precious. Precisely because we can’t control how much we have, but we can control what we do with the time we’ve got.

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And the photo? It’s of a Salvador Dali sculpture to promote an exhibition here. It was taken at the airport which was my bus trip destination. No, I wasn’t travelling or flying anywhere. But that’s another story …