Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What is "lost time" and how do I find it?


Have you ever gone “in search of lost time?”  Is it really possible to find lost time?  Is it like losing your keys?  How do we lose time?  Do we simply forget to where we put it or does it fall out of our pockets?  Or is it more like losing your memory?  Where do we go to search for lost time?  Have you ever found lost time in a closet or under your bed?  What do you do with it if you do find it?  

What if you could not lose time? What if it were simply a metaphor for the way we squander and consume our time in wasteful ways?  For instance, how often have you sat in a traffic jam on the way to work or how often have you been kept waiting in a doctor’s office for an appointment.  Or have you ever had one of those days where you just were not able to accomplish anything and then the day was over. Each of these situations probably felt like “lost time.”

Where does all this lost time go?  Somewhere in the world, there must be a treasure trove of lost and stolen time.  It is the greatest treasure ever accumulated since the time of Solomon.  Think about all the time we lose every day in traffic jams, missed appointments, downtimes, equipment failures, poor instructions, missed communications and simple forgetfulness.  Unfortunately, even the most avid treasure seekers will probably never find this fortune trove of time. 

What if you could try real hard and never lose time again?  “Impossible” you might say, “How can I speed up traffic or the doctor?”  If we have no control over our time then it might be proper to blame time robbers and not ourselves for lost time.  “A thief stole my time today.”   How often do we blame others or blame fate for our “lost time?” How many days a year do you lose your time?  How many days a year is time stolen from you by a time robber?  Is it ever your fault when you lose time or is someone else always to blame.  Do you think there are ways you could cut down on losing your time?

2 comments:

  1. I never really feel like I "lose" time, but I do wonder sometimes where the time went. Time to me sometimes speeds up, but never do I feel like I really lost it. I think if you try really hard not lose time, than it's already lost. My brother always told me I will have nobody to blame but myself and that applies to everything in life to me. You can't blame others for your so called lost time, because it's a decision you ultimately make. If you decide to wait for your friend who is always late (story of my life) than you can't blame anyone but yourself for being late for a movie.

    I lose 0 days a year of my time and have yet to even meet a time robber. If I happen to "lose time" it's my fault, but I look at time very differently. Like in your previous blogs, I often times don't know what day it is (mostly because I'm looking for a job unsuccessfully right now), so time flies. All of the sudden I've been here for 2 months and I don't feel like I've lost any time, but it's surprising how fast the time has gone.

    I think the way you can cut down on losing time is to just forget about time. Love life and appreciate the moment. Easier said than done, but you at least have to try. Right?

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  2. It's funny Anthony, you have never met a time robber but how many people use this as their excuse for going through life and never getting anything done. Luck is perhaps another name many would call the Time Robber.

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