A realization ...

 

 As people move through life, passing from the hopeful ignorance of youth into sobering adulthood, they sooner or later face an increasingly nagging question: “Is this all there is?” Childhood can be painful, adolescence confusing, but for most people, behind it all, there is the expectation that after one grows up, things will get better. During the years of early adulthood, the future still looks promising, and the hope remains that one’s goals will be realised. But inevitably, the bathroom mirrors show the first white hairs, and confirm the fact that those extra pounds are not about to leave; inevitably, eyesight begins to fail, and mysterious pains begin to shoot through the body. Like waiters in a restaurant starting to place breakfast settings on the surrounding tables while one is still having dinner, these intimations of mortality plainly communicate the message: Your time is up; it’s time to move on. When this happens, few people are ready. “Wait a minute, this can’t be happening to me. I haven’t even begun to live. Where’s all that money I was supposed to have made? Where are the good times I was going to have?” 

(Quoted from ‘Flow’ by Mihaly Csikszentmihali)