Spring forward. Set all clocks an hour later than what they were previously set at. Henceforth one is two, seven is eight, and so forth.
Einstein said many thought-provoking things about time, and because Einstein said these things I am predisposed to think they are true. He said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” And “The distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent.”
Did he know these things were true or was he just guessing? Or was he just messing with our minds?
Certainly how we divide up the days time-wise is an arbitrary construct. We might have divided a day into twenty hours or eleven hours, and those hours would be longer than the twenty-four hours we currently agree on. And weeks? Why seven days? Many a Monday feels like a Sunday. Right? Who thought of seven? Why not eleven?
I get months. The moon doing her thing. I get years. The ride we take around the sun. But hours, minutes, seconds? Sure they have their uses, but they bug me, as do weeks.
The people who lived in Mendocino for thousands of years (and are apparently still living here according to Einstein) had days and months and years, but not hours, minutes, or seconds. They had Dawn, Morning, Afternoon, Dusk, Evening, Night. And seasons. They definitely had seasons because seasons are not arbitrary constructs.
I wonder if the absence of seconds, minutes, and hours made life less stressful. I like to think so. Einstein might have said Time is the source of stress. Maybe he did. Or maybe he will. In a parallel dimension.
People often say of their impending vacations, “I’m taking some time off.” Do they mean they’re taking a break from measuring the passage of time in arbitrary increments? Or do they mean they’re going somewhere? Will they be free of the constrictions of time for a time? I hope so.
When I left for college fifty-six years ago (or right now according to Einstein) my mother gave me two things: her old Smith-Corona electric typewriter and a Timex wristwatch. The typewriter was a boon, the wristwatch a curse. Given my compulsive nature, I looked at my watch constantly and drove myself crazy. So I stopped wearing it, attached it to my knapsack, and to this day I have a wristwatch attached to my basket. I use a basket as my knapsack/purse nowadays. Everyone should tote a basket if you ask me.
Today is Thursday, which means I’m going grocery shopping at Corners around eleven. Before the pandemic I used to go to town almost every day to shop and get the mail. Then during the pandemic I started doing just one big shopping trip per week. Now I go two times a week, Mondays and Thursdays, and I time my going to coincide with deliveries of fresh foodstuffs. I still wear a mask in Corners and in the post office, though few other people do. I’m in the habit.
I like to take my time when I shop at Corners. Now there’s a lovely concept. Taking my time. Giving myself all the time I need to select the very best mushrooms, the loveliest green beans, and to be available for conversations with people I might meet as we forage together for tasty comestibles to sustain us for another day or four.
fin
Cuatro Minutos from Todd’s album Ahora Entras Tu