I was recently thinking about the ongoingness of time, how I’ve been on this planet for a while now, and how in 2020, I’ll have been here even longer.

We mark the shift in the new year with yelling and confetti because the moment would otherwise pass without notice. If we didn’t shout “Happy New Year!” it would just be another night.

Likewise, we quickly change momentum and direction when we die—but it doesn’t always come with such a flourish. You’re here, then you aren’t. Sometimes it’s marked, and sometimes you just fall asleep.