Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Tick tock.

The concept of time frustrates me: getting up early in the morning, being late, not having enough time to do something ... I hate the confinement. It is frequently argued that we as humans are the most powerful beings and that we have free will, but ultimately, time rules us; we are governed by a tiny ticking sound, physically and metaphorically.

The dictionary defines time as 'the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole' but it seems to me to be a constriction of our own creation of which we can no longer escape. 

It's something that's always been there. Even before the first clock was created in the 1300s, people were working out the time from the stars and the seasons. However, these predictions were much less precise and flexible in comparison to the modern human's introduction of definitive numbers. 


When I was little, everyday when I came home from school, I would sit down and watch Bernard's Watch on CITV. It was fascinating as it consisted of a boy who had a watch that had the ability to pause time. Can you imagine the possibilities? I'd have five extra hours in bed a day and still get to uni on time. I'd probably give myself a weeks extension on my current assignment. I wouldn't have been late for work this evening but most importantly, I'd give myself more time to do the things I enjoy whilst I have 'my time' here on Earth.

Everybody's always in a rush and although I desperately try not to be one of these people, I still don't get time to do the things I love such as reading for pleasure, pursuing illustration, even something as simple as spending time with the people I love.  

It occurred to me recently that this is just the start; I am aiming for a high flying career, but do I really want to be driven by time and deadlines for the rest of my life? It's a scary concept but it's reality. No matter what I decide, it's always going to have an inevitable hold over me, but this won't stop me trying to defy it. So, in order to get this assignment finished this week, I may have more than a few sleepless nights and I will extend my day into the night, I will find more time to do the things I love, and I will find a way to appreciate time, rather than resenting it, not everyone gets this luxury.