Sunday, January 25, 2009

The Pressure of Time



















I feel like time is slipping away sometimes. Like the days that I see old friends and family and then the time is gone and I'm into another day. The days bleed into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. The seasons change and people who were once close become strange. It seems the more we try to hold onto "the times," the harder it is when they go away. I think sometimes people have kids in order to try to somehow solidify time, in that you have these children who are part of you, starting life anew. Like somehow you can live again, refreshed, through someone else's brand new childhood. But make no mistake; it is not yours but theirs. To kiss the soft lips of youth again and feel the freshness of the day. As though time was mine. Just this week a couple friends, both bringing up children, told me that though the technical work day has ended, it is as though, the world at home feeding, bathing and putting these children to bed is a whole other world, a whole other work day. Both these friends told me that they dip into their very scarce well of time to take just a little for themselves at the very final end of the day, for if they didn't, they would not have any time at all. But they do capture it. It takes work to capture some time for yourself. I often lay awake wondering if I am wasting my time. I make vows to try to soak all the rest up. I get lost sometimes and have to make up time. I find myself just watching time. I find myself trying to salvage the remains of my time. I get confused about how I lost time. I try to manage my time but end up giving others my time. Even in my dreams I slipstream through time. I think we need a chance to just be ourselves, maybe with some friends, lovers, coworkers, but mostly alone. Then we can say we own time. That, we are time. We can just be the moment, fully there, without words.

Finding in your jacket a crumpled 20 and a dime. To the edge of your glass, add a slice of lime. Tomorrow and tomorrow goes the rhyme but if you are here in the moment, you'll have plenty of time.

4 comments:

The Square Corner said...

Very, very good. Best thing you've written. Poignant to me, since I just found out an elderly aunt, who is suffering from severe diabetes, has slipped into a state of deep anxiety and depression brought on by loneliness--a disease of the modern age. It looks as if she'll be entering a senior's residence. May help with her state of mind. I guess it has to do with time, which you write about so well. Makes me wonder where it has all gone...does it have a shape or form? Who knows. Maybe it is better to live by the second hand rather those hands that track minutes and hours. Might make you realize how we're all hear for a short visit. So stand at the precipice of the Grand Canyon, look up to the Northern Lights, do what you want to do before it's too late. Keep up the good posting, Dox.

SC

Anonymous said...

You're not wasting your time as long as your imparting wisdom like this. Keep it up for the rest of us poor saps, boy.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I wrote "your" instead of "you're".

Brother Ollie said...

Flush,

(To bring up a time reference of our youth)

We parents do want to carve a little slice of time for ourselves, but I often feel that the time that I spend at home is when I really live; at least when compared to many aspects of a typical Ollie work day.

Keep ripping out these blogs Flush.