I'd like to talk about time today... or the lack thereof. It's so illusive and subjective. My concept of time may be different from yours. In fact, I'm sure it is.
Take a sunny day, for instance. Jam that together with friends and family and a nice get together and whooosh, the day is gone in an instant leaving trace memories behind. Now go to work on that same day in the same town and that particular day can drone on and on and on.... you get the picture.
I was given an assignment nearly 22 months ago. I ran across it when I was going through all my emails and sorting it all out. It went like this: "Why do the days grow shorter the older we get? It's not just a perspective either. I used to work 18 hours a day and still get everything done. Now I don't do anything and can't find time to squeeze anything in. Right now I think there's 13 or 14 hours in a day. Your thoughts?"
I suppose a more timely answer would have been in order, but truly I was stumped. It sure does seem that way, doesn't it? That the older you get the less time there is? I decided to sleep on it and see if anything came to me. This is the end result... As Sally Sees It.
Back in the day I would try to impress people with my profound wisdom. I had an opinion about everything. I still do. What's different is that I don't feel the need to force-feed it to people any more. They can agree or not. It doesn't matter to me. I guess that is one of the benefits of getting older. All the points have been made so why try to make the square peg fit into the round hole any more?
I had a little saying that I would use about time. "There is no time. Time is an illusion created by man. He needed to differentiate events from happening in approximately the same period. He created sequence to make some sense of the disorder and chaos he felt. Without time he could do neither. And so he created that too."
I thought it was pretty profound anyway. But people would look at me like I had five heads and then I would find myself alone. "Too deep for them," I would think, and then carry on whatever I was doing at the time. It was just fine with me.
Over the years I've heard all manner of jokes about time.
"Knock, Knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Time."
"Time who?"
"Time to stop answering the door!" (oh, haha)
Or how about the Talking Clock?
While proudly showing off his new apartment to friends, a college student led the way into the den.
"What is the big brass gong and hammer for?" one of his friends asked.
"That is the talking clock," the man replied.
"How's it work?" the friend asked.
"Watch this," the man said then proceeded to give the gong an ear shattering pound with the hammer.
Suddenly someone screamed from the other side of the wall, "KNOCK IT OFF, YOU IDIOT! It's two AM in the morning!" ( a bigger HAHA )
And then there's the one about age which brings us back to the beginning...
How is growing old like a roll of toilet paper?
The nearer to the end you get, the faster it goes! (NO haha)
Or does it really?
I submit to you that that isn't true at all. After all, a second is a second, a day is a day, and a year is a year. That is constant. What is the variable in this puzzle? Most people have already concluded that it is time itself. Ahhh... there is the problem!
Here is my view. I think we understand more things as we get older. We've done all the things we could, some of the things we shouldn't have and the list is endless about the would-haves. I would have if ________ (fill in the blank).
I don't think time is askew in the puzzle at all. What is different for different people is the priority of the moment. It isn't time itself, rather the task we would have done in that particular time frame.
People reminisce about the 'old days.' For me it was a simpler time, a slower time. Has time sped up? I don't think so. But what's different now from then is that my values have changed. I don't place much value on going out all the time now whereas I did back in the day. I don't get caught up in the keeping up with the Joneses phenomenon any more. That alone can save a LOT of time.
While the world spins itself out and time marches on, I can still find quiet times amidst the chaos we call life. People are just too busy any more. They clutter their lives with meaningless things that won't mean a thing next year much less a hundred years from now. All in the name of trying to impress another person or the boss or whoever.
When you get older you see the frivolity in that behaviour. You truly see what you have missed while you thought your life was full and fulfilling. You suddenly realize what is most important in life, and time isn't it.
Time is of no more importance than money. You can hold a dollar in your hand but in and of itself it is useless. It is what it represents that is of value. What money purchases is memories. It's the same with time. Spend it wisely and it won't seem so illusive. The older years will be filled with the memories of what you did with your time. I mean, face it, is your time going to be spent skydiving anyway?
No... time isn't the enemy here. It's the focus that's been shifted that is awry. Focus on being with those you care about. Take your time and really enjoy the present moment. It's all any of us have really. Now.. no now.... no now....
"But time is running out," you cry. Here's a news flash... Time has been running out since the moment of your birth and you didn't seem to have a problem with that until you turned 40. Use your time, don't misuse it. And it will become your greatest ally... other than me, of course. The last word in Sally IS ally, after all. Tick, tock, tick tock...
Personally, I think this problem with time is a conspiracy created by the government to keep us from noticing how much money they pick out of our pockets as they shift our focus away from all that is right and good and sacred with our lives.
Think about it. Every ad assures you that the purchase price is only good for a limited time. We are encouraged to buy 'on time' thus shoveling money into all the financial institutions with the interest we owe. We don't want to miss out on all the extra values at the bargain shop. And please don't forget that it's always Miller time somewhere!
There's marking time, leisure time, halftime, making time and playtime. There's the race against time, arriving on time and being in the right place at the right time.
On the other hand there's hard times, living on borrowed time, killing time and doing time. But if we're lucky we can experience once upon a time, the sifting sands of time and time in a bottle.
It's no wonder we are obsessed with time. But I will say this about time: It is the great healer. No matter the hurt, time takes care of it. The only true time I see lacking is quality time with those I care about. I hope your time is as valuable as mine. I take time often to tell those I care about that I love them. What better use of time is there?
If you've made it this far I salute you. Just one more trudge down the road of happy destiny you have traveled with me. I appreciate your time. Because truly... it is all we have to give that's worth anything. Not quite the answer you were looking for, huh? See you on the flip side...
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