Time is certainly something that none of us can ignore.
We can’t break out of it, we can’t stop it, we can’t slow it down, can’t change its direction.
We are stuck at this point in time, and time will keep moving at the pace that it chooses, and we’re just along for the ride.
So, like it or not, this is what we are dealing with.
One way or another, we have to find some way to work with time.
But it seems like the way we think about time is very flexible.
There’s no one clear way to describe time, to interpret time, to deal with it.
Nobody really even understands what time is.
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It seems like, because we live inside this measured time world so much, that it can really become built into the way we think, even more than it needs to be, maybe too much.
And we can kind of have this clock going in our minds all the time, that we’re always within some kind of a time window.
It’s like “Oh, OK, now I have to be here at this certain time.
Therefore I must do this, therefore I must do this, before, before, before”, so that everything is laid out.
Of course, some people never think this way, and then they may be late and show up whenever they happen to show up.
That may not work either.
But I think that I sometimes take it too far towards being too organized in time, so that I always have my schedule lined up, and it feels like I’m living inside a clock sometimes, just because all my time is within this kind of measured pattern.
So even in the evening, “OK, I’m done for the day, oh, but I have to wake up at this time, therefore I need to go to sleep at this time, therefore-” you know, counting back from everything.
It seems like it’s a rare moment to really just be outside time entirely.
I think this can be a valuable thing to do, to just take a break from this measured time.
We don’t need to always think of ourselves as being within this number, like it’s a certain “o’clock” on a certain calendar day.
It seems like that’s always kind of lodged in my mind, in the back of my mind, that everything I’m doing is sort of in the context of this hour and this day.
But we don’t have to always think that way.
Imagine forgetting what time it is.
And maybe, again, for some people, they may be doing this every day.
So some people already have this down.
But imagine just leaving that whole time system, and just being there.
Things are just there.
Not everything has to have a set time.
The day doesn’t really have to be that calendar day.
It doesn’t have to be tied to the number that we apply to it.
We can simply have a day.
The day being measured by the sun going up and down.
OK, so now the sun’s up.
It’s some time of day.
What’s the calendar day? Well, I can see it’s winter.
It’s a certain time of year.
So you can think of daytime right now.
This is daytime.
Winter.
And that’s it.
Now, you can see why this is not very practical, and why we use the numbers practically.
You don’t say “Hey, let’s meet during the daytime in the winter.” That may result in a lot of cold waiting around.
So instead, of course, we have a date and a time specifically, specified with numbers, so we can meet.
but if we’re not meeting anybody right now, why do we need to always automatically think of our day inside those numbers? So it’s a very abstract point, but I think there can be some value in just breaking out of this pattern of the numbers of time, the measured time ticking by, cycles of hours and days, the clock, the calendar, always living within this framework.
I think it can be useful to remember that that framework is a convention, a convenience.
It’s something artificial, something we set up to help in practical matters.
But it isn’t inherently there.
So I’m curious if you’ve ever tried this.
Do you normally think this way, maybe, and just don’t worry about what time and day it is? Maybe impractical for meeting appointments, but on the other hand, could be quite freeing.
Or do you always find yourself checking the time and thinking about how you’re going to fit what you’re doing within the hours and days available, always thinking about the next appointment? And what I’m curious about is: what would be different? What would be different if we didn’t think of ourselves living within the clock and calendar? Imagine just being, on a day. Having a day to just be there.
#senseoftime #clocktime #escapefromtime