“Sweet childish days, that were as long, As twenty days are now.” William Wordsworth
How often have we said, “Time flies.” It felt like we just finished a rollover into the next decade and it is already March.
I begin work at 8:00 in the morning and somewhere around 12:30 p.m. I’ll come up for air and ask, “Where have the last four hours gone?” Then with a snap of the fingers it is the end of the day … week … month …
And the adage is true that as you age time speeds up. It is Monday, then Friday— with a few deep breaths.
So what happens when time stands still? As Benjamin Franklin warned, “Remember that time is money. “
We left a concert in La Jolla on a rainy Sunday afternoon, jumped into the car,
threw on our seat belts and started the car … or ATTEMPTED to start the car. There was simply a fast clicking noise when I turned the key in the ignition. Okay, what had been left on to drain the battery juice? Nothing! So I waited a few minutes, tried again … the same result.
Time to call my insurance carrier. The customer service lady with a beautiful southern drawl informed me that the first tow truck company she could reach said they would be there within 45 minutes. Wow! That’s a l-o-n-g time to wait! She tried several other companies and they had longer estimates.
So we sat in the car and looked at each other. Could we find a place to eat? Not close by. Was there a Chess game in the trunk? No, not one. Book or magazine we could check out? Lost on that one too. Laptops? At home. Flip cam? Why had I forgotten it?
So we sat and looked at our watches. Only five minutes had passed. It seemed like an hour …
Okay, do some people watching … Checked the time … Two more minutes had passed. Darn it—time was crawling.
We looked at each other speechless. Now mind you I’m sitting in the car with a dear friend I can have a two-and-a-half-hour lunch with and never run out of things to talk about.
You check every car that passes by, praying for the tow truck. Check your watch again … one more minute gone. Try to start the car just one more time … click, click, click. Check your watch again …
Mentally run through the concert program. Check your watch again … one more minute ticked by. Try to start the car … click, click, click. Check your watch again … Ask your friend what time they have? Maybe my watch is broken …
The ASAP Towing Company appeared on the scene 19 minutes after I placed the call. Jose pulled out the jumper cables and we were on our way in less than 4 minutes.
Am still pondering that 19 minutes. Is it so vital to always have something to do? Have we become such a gadget-oriented society that our fingers must always be fiddling with something? Or was the impatience merely a distraction from being jerked away from a schedule?
I’ve thought in 19-minute increments today. It has put a different slant on the day. In a way that defies logic, when you slice up the day into smaller segments it lasts longer.
The next time I’m at a l-o-n-g red light or (God forbid) my battery is dead, I’m going to attempt to do nothing (yep, not even meditate) and just enjoy it—without feeling guilty?!
How do you cope with the unexpected “off the clock” shift in your day? Do you get all upset? Reach for a gadget? Or sit back and just let it flow? Please share your ideas with me … I’m headed for another 19-minute increment day!
To Our Unbridled Success,
Dar
March 9th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Dar~ I hate it when that happens! I have been stuck too, I’m sure everyone has! Not only with a dead battery, but I guess the cause is irrelevant. Like you, I’m learning that life will get easier for us when we learn to see life for what it is – time. This is yet another way for personal growth!!
.-= Linda G Cox´s last blog ..Cool Tools – Animoto Slide Show =-.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Hi Darlene,
You made me laugh and you made me think. Why do we always feel so guilty just taking a little time to be? Thanks for the inspiration.
.-= Deborah Stevens´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Deborah,
Am not sure why we can’t just be; however, when I figure it out I’ll be sure to pass it on. At least I’m going to give it a whirl …
March 9th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Darlene, you asked an almost rhetorical question: “Is it so vital to always have something to do?”
Coping with delays and all is a mental thing, oftentimes with negative repercussions. Our fast paced society has conditioned us to be efficient and always moving on to the next accomplishment, no matter how small or large the task.
Managing the time demon within is completely possible by looking at the big picture. For example if I miss a commuter train by 1 or 2 minutes and the next one isn’t until 30 minutes later it’s better to just chill and accept it rather than boil over at the fact I’ll be home half an hour later. On the other hand, I’m wired to hate being in long lines of stopped or slow moving traffic!
So now I see how the old saying “time is the enemy” can apply to all sorts of aspects of our lives. No need for it to be so though.
Thanks for the enlightening post.
.-= Stew Shaw´s last blog ..Massive Effort and The Flying Pig Syndrome =-.
March 10th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Great article Darlene!
Could you imagine how a guy would have thought 100 years ago about 19 minutes?
I guess he would smile a little bit:-)
Yours,
Hauke
http://www.haukeborow.org
March 10th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
As I drove to the Dr. office this morning, I had the thought~ the receptionist never called to remind me of my appointment… sure enough after I sat in the waiting room for about a half an hour… the nurse practitioner came out and said the Dr. didn’t do his job… I’ll have to come back tomorrow! A waste of an hour and 1/2! Man, did I think of you on my ride home!!
.-= Linda G Cox´s last blog ..Reporter vs Expert – Why Most Bloggers Are Stuck Reporting =-.
March 10th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Laughing … Did you relax and take a deep breath, or were you sputtering?
March 10th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Hey Darlene,
Wonderful post on how we always must be doing something. Every since we’ve moved from Michigan to Florida I’ve learned to relax and not let the little things get to me. Back in the Midwest I was so use to multi-tasking that this didn’t come easy at all. I’ll share with you a little story at which point it all began.
We opened up one of our first bicycle franchise rental locations in a beautiful park called Fort DeSoto rated #1 Beach in America. Well I was working this location one day and some young guys came up at the end of the day and wanted to rent. I explained I was closing but OK I said and sent them on their way for an hour. 1 1/2 hour later they showed up and I was upset because I wanted to leave and get home. During this half hour of them being late I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen!
On my way home as I leaving the island about 2 miles up the road the bridge goes up. Dang! If those kids weren’t late I would have not be stuck here. Well, I was the first vehicle and while waiting for the bridge there were 2-4 dolphins jumping out of the water while feeding. How cool was that to see!
On my way south I have to go across the Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay. Just as I’m heading up the steep climb, I notice the Carnival Cruise Ship is passing underneath as I;m going across. What a spectacular site!
After that, I thought to myself if those kids weren’t late.
Dave and (Dawn)
March 10th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Great story, Dave. Thanks for sharing! Life is all in how you look at it, right?
March 11th, 2010 at 3:01 am
…you wouldn’t like me when my DROID is out of service…
Lol, but seriously, I love wasting time. One thing I cannot STAND is when my time is wasted for me, though. Maybe it’s cause society shaped me into a smart phone addict, maybe it’s not… Either way, I should probably chill out and try your “nothing method” haha.
Garrett
.-= Garrett Miller´s last blog ..How Were You Purple Today? =-.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Great post Darlene, and then you can also always put yourself in a hypnotic trance and decide to make time go either slower or faster depending on what you fancy at the moment. It’s what we are doing inside our heads that causes us to perceive time as something real that is either speeding up or slowing down. And if you choose to be mystical you would say now is the only time that really is. Linear time is a merely a man made idea that serves functional value. And Cyclical time is so much closer to reality.. Is a Fascinating subject…..thanks for sharing!
Johneal
March 12th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
HI Darlene
I can really relate to this post. Sometimes i feel like i have a big clock hanging round my neck constantly reminding me how little time we have. One guy i know always carries a cd and book in his briefcase for those times where he is left “stranded”. He said to his child “If you ever ask me to produce a book and/or cd from my briefcase and its not there i will give you $20″. He has never had to pay up. I always have a book or my diary to fill in the gaps so as not to waste a second. Having said that its important to just be in the moment and enjoy it.
Thanks Darlene, great post.
Cheers,
Matt
.-= Matt Jones´s last blog ..Go with the flow =-.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
With the invention of the iphone, my time can be pretty much occupied if I run into some of the issues that you’ve discussed. But I get what you mean.
.-= Jerry´s last blog ..Secrets Of Creating Wealth? Could it be Giving? =-.
March 12th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Hi Darlene, an excellent point you’ve made, the one thing that everyone is forever chasing or racing against…Time. I have found myself in similar situations, as we all have, & I have learned to take some deep breaths & relax. I remind myself that there is a reason for this delay & I open my mind to receiving the message that it brings.
Thanks for sharing. Cheers Toni
March 13th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Darlene,
Nice way to make us think about our technological addictions. I think I might enjoy a 19 minute moment of silence every now and then. In fact, I think I’ll have one today.
Thanks for the idea!
Krista
.-= Krista Abbott´s last blog ..Social Media Management Tools: HootSuite =-.
March 17th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Hi Darlene,
Time is a funny old thing. I totally love having time to spend doing something that I love. I also love the feeling of having nothing to do but think.
This morning I thought oh I have ages, why dont I meditate for 20 minutes so I sat there closed my eyes and do you know what happened….I fell asleep for 3 bloody hours, no meditation achieved LOL.
I was so cross with myself, I dunno maybe I was tired. But I wanted to turn the clock back so much. Hehe.
Great post!,
Beth Hewitt
March 18th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Hello My Michigan Friend!
It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we do nothing. I use to be as Garrett described, not minding wasting my own time but when others wasted my time it was a very different story.
In 2007 I was running at full throttle when I slipped on black ice and smashed my head on pavement. Time was taken away from me through black outs and seizures. Five minutes turned into five hours and 5 weeks and 5 months without my knowledge.
Today I am living with normal time frames as anyone, praise God, but my perspective on time has definitely changed. I do what I can to the best of my ability every day and in every way. When someone interrupts me I know there is something I am to learn from them and I give them my full attention with a grateful heart.
Thanks for the reminder that there is too much life to waste always doing. Sometimes its in doing nothing that we learn the most.
<3
Kellie
.-= Kellie Frazier´s last blog ..Do You Know Your Purpose? Try This Short Exercise to See if You Know =-.
March 21st, 2010 at 4:39 am
That happenned to me the othyer day too. I arrived too early to pick up my kids and found myself with absolutely nothing to do! Time is precious and the minutes ticked by like an eternity while I thought of all things I should have and could have been doing! Learning how to manage our time is so important!
.-= Julianna Brower´s last blog .. =-.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Hi Darlene,
Time is interesting, it can go fast or slow depending on what you’re doing (usually the opposite of what you would like it to do). So I suppose it really is important to take a look at how much you value your time.
No wonder so many people are stressed these days, information and communications can be transferred so quickly. Maybe we’re all in information overload and we expect things to happen quickly, so when it’s taken away from us (like your car breaking down) we don’t know what to do!
Excellent insight!
Cheers,
Lynn
.-= Lynn Glaser´s last blog ..A Twitter Tab For Your Facebook Fan Page In 7 Easy Steps =-.
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Hi Darlene,
Great post. Thanks for sharing with us all.
I have heard about trying to live life in 15 minute increments. It seems easier that way. I have tried it out a few times and it felt good. I was able to focus on the main thing that I needed to get done.
When unexpected things come my way that get me “off plan”, I tend to sit back and evaluate where they fit, and what they will do compared to what I had planned. Then decide what to do next.
I rarely react to situations.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
March 30th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Great post Darlene. I know what you mean as you get older. I am amazed that Tuesday (my Monday)comes so quickly and then how does it get to be Friday so quickly? What I need to work on is when things happen out of my control and just be in the moment. You made me think!
.-= Cathy Cresser´s last blog ..My First Video with James =-.