Last night most of the country turned back their clocks from Daylight Savings Time to Regular Time. But turning back our clocks was an artifact of the clock---we didn’t actually get an additional hour in our lives, even though most of us think that’s what ‘Spring Forward and Fall Back’ suggests.
The idea of ‘saving time’ is an illusion. We can’t save time. We can
spend it,
take it,
use it,
fill it,
even serve it.
But we can’t actually save it---once a minute is gone, it’s gone forever and we can’t retrieve it to use again. Not ever.
But we can surely waste time---fritter it away. That’s entirely up to us.
However, looking productive to some observer isn’t the same as actually filling time productively. It’s entirely possible for a person to look like they’re just killing time, lazing about or taking a leisurely walk, when what they’re really doing is absorbing their surroundings and without they’re knowing it, allowing some creative soup to be made of prior thoughts, past experiences, snippets of conversations that jump started some hardly realized thinking, and the scents in the air that day/the feel of the sun through the window/and the sudden desire for a hot fudge sundae with pistachio ice cream. Who knows what new story, invention, song, dance, game, or other completely unusual something could be the result of allowing/welcoming time like this? Taking time to read to children, or do puzzles with a friend, or enjoy a knitting group can also seem trivial---but it’s a way to enjoy community and relationships. It’s giving our time and sharing time and enjoying time with others.
Since time can’t be saved, it makes sense to spend it as often as we can in ways that fill our spirit and puts goodness into the world.
I like to knit. I particularly like it because it’s the making of a garment one stitch at a time. And if I’m making that garment for someone else, like my granddaughter, for example, I have the pure delight of thinking about her as the yarn moves through my fingers, as I hear the specific sound of the needles creating the garment. If I’m working with particular yarn, there may be a unique scent to it, which just adds to my sweet experience. But mostly, it’s just each stitch---the one-at-a-timeness of the project that I love. And it really can’t be rushed---each stitch creates the pattern which completes the garment. So, I get to spend time doing something enjoyable with my hands, while I think about the person I’m intending to give the finished product to, and I also get to drift away with other thoughts, ideas, musings. For me, this is often time that becomes rich in sensation and solitary pleasure.
Other people must have similar experiences when they engage in activities that both fill and fulfill their time. Painting, writing, gardening, cooking, making bread, singing, wood working, many others.
Especially during this pandemic, have you discovered new ways to spend your time that brings you joy or that surprises you? Have you discovered talents or interests that have been long buried or forgotten or never discovered before---and now have time to flourish?
Nobody would have wanted this terrible pandemic, but has the unencumbered time allowed you to learn some important things about yourself and/or your life?
What will you do with that new insight?