I remember a Jack Hanna VHS tape from when I was a boy in which Jack Hanna comments at the end, something to the effect of how quickly life will pass by. I remember it feeling pretty scary thinking I'd be old and dead before I could blink my eyes.
As the years have gone on, I've learned that the drudgery of the "clean" day, you know, the average workday of wake up, coffee, traffic, office, meetings, home, dinner, three hours of TV, bed, wash, rinse, repeat. You hate the days; you live for the weekend, and life becomes a chase for the next vacation.
Is that any way to live? The days are long, but the years pass you by in a moment.
The answer, of course, is to find your passion, but that's obvious.
The other answer is to leave room for the unknown and be open for the spontaneous.
Pick up a hobby you never thought you'd like:
Start cycling, start fishing, stop watching TV and Netflix, start reading for 30 minutes a day, do something that scares you, chop down a tree, go jet skiing, or regular skiing, find a national park and wander, go to a yard sale and negotiate for no reason other than it scares you.
When life forces you to take a detour, take your time, and enjoy the route. We all long for structure and stability, but we need spontaneous adventure in our life. Finding balance and mixing life up always will make the days short, but the years long.