Springing forward : An epiphany

“Daylight saving time (DST) or summer time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times.”

To someone who had lived all his life in a country that did not use daylight saving time (because we never had a need for it, thanks to being so close to the Equator), this seemed very interesting. How would it feel, to set your time forward by one hour? This was something I wanted to witness firsthand, and hence, decided to stay awake until 2 AM March 12.

What is there to witness? It’s nothing, retorted one of my friends to whom I expressed my intention. I couldn’t explain my line of reasoning to him, for there was none. This was something whimsical, not born of rhyme or reason, something I felt I wanted to do, just because.

And hence, I stayed up. Knowing full well that it was way past my usual bedtime. To while away the hours, I helped myself to whiskey. It is funny, how one drink turns into two, two into three, and you slowly find yourself losing count. I drank on into the night, interspersed by smokes, and unsurprisingly, I found myself a little drunk.

It was almost time. It was then I felt a faint uneasiness in my gut. To be on the safe side, I stumble to the bathroom, and was rewarded for my efforts. This is what happens when you drink too much too fast.

Stepping out, I look at my phone. The time was 3:05 AM. It took a moment to register upon my addled brain that DST had kicked in. In a way, I had lost one hour of my life, retching and throwing up.

I think there’s a lesson here. This is life, us losing time by the second, by the hour, by the day. We lament the loss of money and other physical possessions, while failing to understand that time is what is most precious to us. Even as we live, we die; one second at a time.

“Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”

This quote by Mitch Albom holds very true. But what of a life without time? Would our lives be better for it, or worse?

Just before I give in to sweet slumber, I realize this loss of an hour is only temporary. I shall get it back come November (assuming I’m somewhere DST is observed). However, what of all the time I’ve wasted, sacrificed and squandered away?

Time lost is indeed never found again.

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