Gretchen Rubin tells a story around this quote. It never resonated with me because it centres on her children. At least that’s what I thought. It may also be that you don’t have that sort of perception of time in your late twenties (which is where I am).

But I can try to empathise.

Days feel long.

Days feel significant.

In a day, I can find my limits.

When I look back on years, very few things stand out:

the relationship that was

graduation

changing jobs

relocations

a first kiss.

The days were long but the years were short.

In the blink of an eye (or so it seems), I transformed my livelihood, I changed my appearance, and I shifted my relationships.

I have a tendency to try to squeeze every last drop out of the day.

I’ve done this in the last few days.

rushing through routines

diving into work

replying to messages as an afterthought

brushing away conversation because I’m busy

heading to bed completely wired.

The days were long.

Even if I won one of those days, I wouldn’t have appreciated it. The cost was so high that I can’t appreciate it in hindsight.

The best days have margin.

The significant moments will happen anyway.

Making sure I actually live in them when they do is worth more than to finish a mountain of minutiae.

 — from Sunrise, Sunset in Fiddler on the Roof