by Moulinie (signed)
a Ladies’ Swiss Cylinder (open face)
circa 1850
(gold and champlevé enamel)
We all worry over time, however differently. When we least want it to, it speeds up uncomfortably, unnaturally, and when we foolishly expect it to flash by to our advantage, it seems to suddenly slow to a near stop. It is our individual perceptions that mask time as either a foe or friend, when in fact it is one of the only true things that remains steady and so very indifferent to our incurably separate and so often lonely lives. It is all around us, invisible, painful and delightful. It controls the growth of our ideals, however often they may change, and it continues to watch and guide us even if we happen to lose sight of it. Occasionally sacrificing us brutally for some unknown greater reason, it plays us like pawns on a chess board. It leaves some to rot in a bubble of days; at other times it allows room for a beautiful performance, making one feel as though they may live forever within the space of a moment. The trouble with time is that no matter how fast or slowly it may seem to tick on, one can only attempt to live through it by living with it. It is not a race, but a challenge, and we must try to see it for what it really is.
