The British writer John B. Priestly once observed “A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours.” I suppose this means that other people are not keeping time for us or putting us on a schedule. How often do we meet the clock only because we worry about offending others? Would we be as scheduled if the feelings of our friends, relatives and employers were not an issue? Who among us would wear a watch or bother keeping time, if there were no consequences to be paid for “being late” or not being “on time?”
What if there was a vacation where you could get away from time? Let’s call it a “Time Free Vacation.” Here is what a “Time Free Vacation” would be like. No one is allowed to wear a watch. There are no schedules to be met. You can get up whenever you want to. You can eat whenever you want to and leave when you want to. Everything you would like to see and do is available anytime you want to visit. Furthermore, you do not have to be home at any special time, so you could continue this vacation as long as you desired.
How many of us would take such a vacation? Can you imagine what would it would be like to live like this for a month? How about an entire year? Do you think you would be able to come back to keeping time again? Would the world miss you while you were out of the loop?
When you go on a vacation, do you leave your watch at home? Is it possible for you to forget about time, even when you are on a vacation? What keeps you married to time? Have you ever considered a divorce? How about taking one day off a month or even a year from time? Give yourself a gift of a “Time Free Vacation.”
What you describe sounds exactly like my life since I retired. i now spend nearly every day alone in the woods or on the water (after unhurriedly enjoying my morning paper's crossword puzzle), my schedule determined by when the sun goes down or when i start to get hungry. All my life I was working on schedules set by others, so man, this feels like heaven!
ReplyDeleteWow, it sounds like an awesome life. I hope my retired spouse Karen can now find the same peace and tranquility for her life. She retired on July 2 but has not yet found the right pace. Thanks for the comment, JOhn
ReplyDeleteNot having time doesn't mean not having appointments or deadlines.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the present will do the trick. Just as in any meditative activity, I catch myself splitting into other people's time. Accept it. Let it go.
peace