tick-tock, what time is it?

Tick-tock tick –tock! I used to listen to the sound of my watch when I was small. I’d put my wristwatch near my ear and listen to the endless tick-tock that it makes. Have you tried listening to your own tick-tocks?

Before the 13^th century, telling the time was very difficult. By then, mechanical clocks were not yet discovered nor invented.  But somehow, people have a way around telling the time. They used sundials.  They merely rely on the shadow the sun will cast on the sundial and they will be able to relatively tell the time. Not the exact time but better than no time at all. It will be so unlucky if a day proved to be rainy or cloudy because there will be no telling of time.

Later on, the water clock was invented and so was the candle clock, which was a little more accurate. But still, it was a challenge for them to be well exact on schedule. I bet there was no expression such as ‘on time’ or ‘on the dot’ or ‘saved by the bell’.

It was in the Middle Ages when mechanical clocks were starting to flourish. However, it wasn’t standardized until the 1800’s when railways were also flourishing.

So what exactly is the importance of time?

For a person suffering from a heart attack alone, he has only 10 seconds to call for help before losing consciousness.  For a basketball championship game whose score is a tie, the last 2-minute play will determine how the game will be remembered. For Ben Carson who operated on detaching the first ever Siamese twins, 20 seconds was all he had to stop the hearts of the twins and determine their fates altogether. For a very busy businessman who missed his plane, 5 minutes was all he could’ve needed to catch his ride.

When you try to look back in your life, how many times have you tried wishing or asking for an extension of time? Was it during a very hard physics exam when the proctor says 10 minutes more and you are still halfway on the equations? Was it during one of those airport moments when you wish the time you have with your loved one would be extended? Or was it in a hospital bed when you try bargaining everything you have just to get an extension of that person’s life laying in front of you.

In reality though, when we are not in those kinds of situations, we always seem to neglect the importance of time. We do not care if we let people wait on us in meetings, in restrooms or even in crowded restaurants. We do not consider that a second of someone else’s time may be a matter of life and death. I am sometimes guilty of abusing someone else’s time. I am embarrassed to admit that procrastination sometimes gets the better of me and phew a few hours after, I just wasted some precious time.

Don’t get me wrong though, I also agree to what John Lennon said:  the time you enjoy is not wasted time. The point is, every single time you spent which gives your existence some meaning is not wasted time. So if it’s something that gives you relaxation and pleasure, go for it. Spend it.

So today, just before you turn in, take a few minutes to review your day and find something worthwhile on how you used up your hours. And if ever you find some lapses, there is always tomorrow. After all, we are a work in progress.

Tick-tock what time is it?