Jack Mancarella

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Advice to Time

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It is only when something is ending or is limited

that we truly appreciate the notion of time.

 

Time is the fabric of our world;

humans have built numerous societies upon it.

 

Perhaps more than any other factor, time

has a domineering influence over someone’s day.

 

It dictates what a person does, and in what order;

it provides us with an incentive, and quite often

something we all need more of.

 

We look to the plastic clock on the wall

— powered by 2 AA batteries —

to tell us what to do next. 

 

We ask Siri to set an alarm. 

 

We look to something invisible, something

only machines can measure,

that without makes us feel

we are driving down the interstate

full speed, no speedometer. 

 

Not to mention our daily routines. 

 

Wake up at 6, breakfast at 7, leave at 8, work from 9 to 5, dinner at 6,

exercise at 7, and in bed by 9 to rewind and repeat. 

 

Copy and paste. 

 

Time is long, but we seem to want more of it. 

 

Working for a wage.  Groceries on weekend.  Garbage on Tuesday. 

Payday on Friday.  Order out on Saturday.  Bills due first of the month. 

 

Time is money, yet time is indispensable. 

It’s hard to pay to get more time. 

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Some events are vivid like they were yesterday, others are more distant. 

Many are now static, lost to memory. 

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Why is it always the same?  

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It’s 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 3.15 million seconds. 

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Always the same. 

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Every day is a lesson, teaching you something. 

Most of what we learn is outside the classroom, done on our feet and on-the-fly. 

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So why not mix it up more often?

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Time could be more fascinating and interesting if there was greater change. 

Once a week, why not have a 25th hour? 

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I know this is only a dream, but it’s not a bad idea.

 Time is of the essence. 

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