"Give me a minute...of eternity"

I am not sure when it began, but Time is passing by faster and faster, or so it seems. The inner child in me sometimes wishes for Time to stop, because there are more and more magical moments nowadays when I really feel so happy that ideally, I would like to freeze these instants.

Alas, reality is stark, and at times even cold, and no matter who we are, prince or peasant girl, princess or porter boy, time will not stop for us. Neither will it obey our myriad whims and fancies.

Time does not stop, not for you, not for me, maybe not even for God up there.
時は止まらずに進んでゆく、誰のためにも止まらぬ、君のためにも、俺のためにも、神様のためにさえも

I knew that, so many of us think. We are all such smart alecks that we think we know everything. We assume there will be a tomorrow; we like to make ASSes out of you and me, by assuming things. But can we be sure?
今のすべてが当たり前なことだと思うなよ、明日がきっと来ると思うなよ。

Therefore, we should cherish each and every moment, because there might not be a tomorrow. Never should we take things or the people who matter to us for granted. Am I digressing? Or is this the most important point? It all depends on your perspective.

I was talking about the passage of time, and how sometimes my pride leads me to think that maybe I could outlast Time, just for the most fleeting of a minute of eternity. But I am not really making sense here. How could we possibly count eternity, much less in terms of units like minutes or seconds? Yet somehow I think that if we could, just a minute of eternity would suffice. A minute would be enough for us to show our care, our appreciation, our emotions, our love.

"Give me a minute", most of us use this phrase at some time or other. What would we say if someone asked us, "Give me a minute of eternity". How would I react? How would you respond? For most of us, giving is harder than taking or receiving. We can be heartless, clueless, loveless when we are giving but it is so difficult for us to be selfless when giving.

We can be Heartless when we give criticism without any consideration
We can be Clueless when we give directions without knowing where we are
We can be Loveless when we give vent to our frustrations and take it out on people
Why then can't we be Selfless when giving?

Ideally, we should give without asking for anything in return. We should give our best without expecting anything in return, and take what is proferred, with a smile and a grateful heart. (It would be good if we could show our appreciation via words or actions too)

Somehow, I think being in Japan has caused me to think more about such stuff, maybe because I know I won't be here forever. A sobering thought, but I guess I have been so blessed to be able to be here for more than 5 years.

I should count my blessings, but my fingers and toes won't be sufficient; could you lend me your hands?