Chained to Time
The first thing I do when I wake up or when I am trying to, is to look at the clock. The fingers of the clock decide if it is time for me to get up or sleep a little bit more. Similarly, before sleeping too I look at the clock and see if it is time for me to sleep. And I do not know how many times during the day I look at my watch or mobile to see the time.
Before Covid-19 when I had to actually commute to the office, mornings were rushed. Time was carefully rationed. You know you have to be very careful about how you use it, especially in the morning. I used to leave early for the office to beat the traffic. Yes, leaving half an hour early saved me one hour of travel time. So, the moment I got up, I knew how I was going to spend the next hour or so. Even while coming back from office, I was always mindful of the time for leaving the office. No one wants to get stuck in traffic. It was there at the back of my mind always.
So nowadays, when many of us are working from home, the mornings are not so rushed and in the evenings I do not have to worry about the time it would take to reach home. I have some time with me. So, sometimes, I just stand at the balcony and look outside or just sit on a chair doing nothing. Yeah, just stand or sit and do nothing. I know a lot of people say that I should rather do some courses online. Doing nothing is considered wasting time for most of us. We need to get something out of time. Maybe one can read or write, which I do when I feel like but why such compulsion to be productive? To make good use of time. It is as if one needs to be busy always to make good use of time. Because, if one makes good use of time, one will do good in life in future.
A person from middle class family in a developing nation is always working for a better future. Working hard to secure a better life. We compare our present with our past. Our present may or may not be better than our past but there is a better future towards which we are always striving. It is true that if one doesn’t work hard, chances are that one may not have a decent life. So yes, we all work hard for a better future. What else could we do?
Can we ever be free of the burden of time? Can we not do something with a view in future but do it for its own sake. I should write because I want to and not because I want to be a better writer in future or a best seller or that I should read because I love to and not because I want to finish 50 books this year. Of course we all will have some aims and ambitions but sometimes can I be free of these and be happy doing whatever I am doing now. For some time can we forget that there is no future to worry about and no past to dwell on. Just the present to be lived.
PS- Thanks for taking out time from your busy schedule to read.
