Why does time seem to accelerate as we age? I am experiencing this firsthand. A day passes in the blink of an eye; a week feels like a single day, a month like a week, and a year like a mere month.

I once met an 85-year-old golfer on the course who told me his time now travels at 85 miles per hour. He noted how drastically different it was from his 60s, when his life cruised at 60 miles per hour...

I read somewhere that as we age, the chunks of time stored in our memory begin to fade, causing our perception of time to shrink and feel as though it's moving much faster. Hmm... it makes sense. Yet, my memories are exceptionally vivid—from my early years in Korea before immigrating to the US at age ten, up to the present day, and everything in between. So, while I grasp the psychological concept, I don't find it to be a particularly satisfying answer.

Humanity invented the clock to measure the flow of time. (A friend of mine is currently trying to measure the depth of love, but that’s a story for another day.) Regardless, a clock ticks at a constant, unwavering interval. Time itself does not change! It is merely our perception that alters. They say time moves slower out in the far reaches of space, but the physics behind that escape me. I'm no Einstein, after all.

What I do know is that time resolves everything. Everything simply takes time.

It took me sixty years to truly understand how profoundly different people are. How foolish of me... I lived entirely confined within my own little bubble, never giving a thought to how others lived. I was completely oblivious to the fact that there are truly malicious people with evil intentions, just as there are those with good ones. I naively assumed everyone thought the way I did. What an absolute fool I was!

It feels rather melancholic to finally realize this only at my age. I know I'm not stupid, but I can't help feeling I've been incredibly naive and childlike. The only way I can find peace of mind is to justify myself as a very, very, very late bloomer. Thinking of it that way even makes me feel a bit younger. Perhaps my time has moved a little slower for me.

I have worked in a single field for over fifty years: photography. People respectfully call me 'Master' or 'Artist.' In my opinion, one year is enough to achieve mastery in any given field. Yet I have done it for half a century. I suppose that makes me a master fifty times over!

Everything is measured by time, yet time flows on with absolute indifference, completely apathetic to whatever happens during its passage.

By nature's design, humans are born, harbor thoughts in their minds, and eventually fade away. Where do all those thoughts go? It’s a fascinating question worth pondering deeply while gazing up at the constellations.

The span of time between birth and death is what we call life. Every generation has its own timeframe that defines its era. In my case, I was born into a family that is highly controversial today, in a country that was severely impoverished at the time. I then immigrated to the most powerful nation in the world to receive my education. In the meantime, the country of my birth grew immensely wealthy. It was nothing short of a miracle. But now, my motherland is already on a downward slope. The destiny of a nation has come full circle.

Currently, I live in one of the poorest countries in the world. I, too, have come full circle—from the wealthiest nation to the poorest. Yet, I have found myself here, and I am happy. Ultimately, it seems what matters is not where you physically reside, but where your heart lies.

Time flows slower here. There aren't many modern 'things' around, as people simply can't afford them. But modernity doesn't necessarily equate to happiness; it merely offers convenience. Americans became so consumed by convenience that they ate themselves into obesity. Now, those same heavy folks spout delusional, victimhood narratives that completely defy common sense. It is highly fascinating to watch. Korea is always so quick to copy whatever America does, but I sincerely hope they skip this particular trend.

If I were to express the sense of time as a photographer at my age: cameras operate on shutter speed. You generally have to shoot faster than 1/125th of a second to prevent motion blur. That is a fraction of time shorter than the blink of an eye. Yet, that split second is the exact moment truth is captured. And it takes time to learn how to see that truth in that fleeting moment. You have to take countless photographs to truly feel it.

My own sense of time is simply flowing, endlessly flowing like a river, devoid of any actual awareness of time itself.