Photo by fdecomite

“I don’t have time for this!” That was a favorite line of one of my bosses.  Whenever he felt overwhelmed by problems or demands, he would recite his tagline.  I always wondered how he had the time to leave work early for a golf game, but that’s another story.

Time of your life

Our lives are ruled by the clock.  Our alarm clock wakes us up.  We may listen to the car radio during our drive-time commute. We have a start time, and a quitting time.  In between there’s break time and lunch time.  You may have to record your work time on your timecard.  We put in overtime at work, whether we’re paid for it or not.  This takes away from our time spent with our loved ones.  After another drive home, it’s dinner time, then a short leisure time before it’s bedtime again.  Another day shot to hell, and what have you accomplished?  Lather, rinse, repeat.  This is how most of our lives are structured.

Ruled by the clock

I want to know: Who the hell came up with such a rigid system?  Why do we let the clock and calendar rule us?  We’re concerned with the number of days until Christmas.  We have to act now on a limited-time offer.  Don’t be late for work, or they’ll dock you for the time missed.  Another year older?  Wow, how time marches on.  My calendar’s clear for that afternoon, so let’s get together.  Only two months until swimsuit season.  And my favorite: How long is it going to take?

Practical reasons

I can understand why we use time.  We need to know when the liquor store opens.  We want to be paid for every minute that we work.  We want to know how long the wait is for a table at a restaurant.  But I don’t understand why we use time against ourselves.  We set time limits on achieving our goals.  We hurry things up at work, only to do a half-assed job because we rushed to meet an unrealistic deadline.  We mark off the years of our birth, only to reinforce the notion that we’re getting older.

Shitcan the time measurements

Now, I’m all for efficiency and managing your time effectively.  I say, measure time for when it’s truly needed, like at work.  But don’t let it discourage you when you’re not at work.  Don’t stress about not making it to the store before it closes.  You can wait until tomorrow.  Don’t worry that you’re a year older.  Age is just a number, an arbitrary measurement.  What does it mean, anyway?  It’s not like you’re going to turn 70 and drop dead.  This isn’t the world of Logan’s Run, where you were euthanized when you turned 30, culled like an old chicken.

Dreamtime

The Australian Aborigines have two sets of time, both existing in parallel.  One constitutes the daily grind, and the other is a “dreamtime”, a spiritual plane that exists separately.  I say, live in the dreamtime.  Measure your age in terms of quality, not quantity.  You can become wise and experienced without acting like an old geezer.  Stop dwelling on the numbers, and start examining the true essence of your life.

Do it before you run out of time.

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