LAST LIGHT

LAST LIGHT 

Original Oil Painting on 6" x 6" Canvas Panel

If you’ve spent much time in the mountians you know that the end of the day and the onset of night comes quickly.  The mountains start to hide the sun long before it is ready to “set.”  Similarly, like being in the mountains at day’s end, aging tends to expedite the perception of the speed at which time passes.  Research suggests that our brain encodes new experiences, but not familiar ones, into memory, and our retrospective judgment of time is based on how many new memories we create over a certain period. In other words, the more new memories we build on a weekend getaway, the longer that trip will seem in hindsight.  In addition, our experience of time varies with whatever we are doing and how we feel about it. In fact, time does fly when we are having fun. Engaging in a novel exploit makes time appear to pass more quickly in the moment. But if we remember that activity later on, it will seem to have lasted longer than more mundane experiences. 

Whether we’re young and in the mountains or older and reflecting, we can’t actually slow down the setting sun.  But, research seems to indicate that notwithstanding our age, we can increase our perception of the time we have here by continuing to engage in “novel exploits.”  It almost sounds dirty…but it certainly sounds fun!