Many of the things we have and do today, viewed with eyes from a century ago, would very probably seem like science-fiction. It was not that long ago when the first
"TV" appeared; in 1927 Philo Farnsworth filed for a patent on the first complete electronic television system, which he called the Image Dissector, and in the late 1940's the common person would be able to buy their first black&white tv-set. Since then, one more mind-boggling invention after the other has been made; technology has no bounds it seems. Much of what we do on a daily basis is done in front of or with the help of a screen. Amazing progress have been made through technology in the fields of medicine, science, diagnostics, physics, etc.etc as well as artistic areas. We can keep in touch with friends and family in most parts of the world, we can make friends with strangers by the click of a mouse, we can search for answers and information on any subject 24/7.
And to think that not long ago we were seduced by moving pictures on a large screen, and ecstatic by "talkies". Now we don't blink an eyelid at it, we just line up for the next new "i-thingy" and we do expect it all to work flawlessly, because exponentially we all seem to be running out of patience.
There is research that supports this with "unhappy" data showing more rage is all the rage; road-rage, parking rage, shopping-trolley rage, waiting-in-line rage, queueing-on-the-way-to-work rage, to mention but a few.
Seems that although we invent more and more time-saving devices and methods, we still don't have enough time, although, we do seem to always have time to be "raging".
Since we came up with the concept "hours" and that one day always has 24 of them, somehow we seem to continuously run out of "time". The time that we "save" with all these amazing time-saving devices we have invented, what do we do with it?
How is it that we are more stressed, anxious, over worked, stretched to the limit, sleepless, when we no longer spend any time collecting fire wood, hunting for food, plucking birds, catching fish, building our house, making our own furniture, ploughing the fields, making bricks, spinning the wool, picking the cotton, and so on?
And how is it possible that some people seem to have more time than others?
Statistics show that people are more anxious now than ever before in history, in spite of all the marvellous inventions we have come up with to make life less stressful, we are in fact stressing more than ever.
So we now need time to de-stress, to meditate, to relax, to get help to control and alleviate our anxieties. Yet, the number of hours in a day,...is still the same 24. Maybe the question is not so much about what we do with our hours, but who we spend them with. "Time", as in years, months, hours, seconds and so forth, is a human construct, something I believe we invented so we could function orderly and harmoniously, but they are all just terms for change, some incremental, others sweeping and large. The sun goes up, the sun goes down, in between the up and down; things, events, and experiences take place. Time is very sensitive to perception. When at the dentist, one hour can seem like four, when having a de-stressing massage, one hour may seem to fly by.
Waiting for ones teenager to return home safely from a party, one may experience every second they are late as a lifetime.
Time then, may be called a malleable concept. If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then maybe time is in the mind of the "beholder". Maybe it is not about the amount of time we have available so much as how we prioritise it, because aware of doing so or not, we do prioritise.
Chatting or texting while waiting in a waiting room, line, bustop, airport, etc. we miss an opportunity to get to know a new person. Sitting on the computer/ipad, gaming/working/emailing, while one of our family/friends needs our attention, we miss an opportunity for closeness.
Is not the whole point of having all these time saving devices so that we can spend more time with those that matters the most to us, or are they just elegant, sophisticated tools that encourage us to be more and more self-focused rather than other-focused?
Is it not possible to not answer the mobile/cell phone when it rings when we have company?
Is it not possible to occasionally leave the computer alone until the kids/significant other are in bed?
Is it not possible to turn to the person next to us on the train/bus/plane and start a conversation rather than text, twitt or facebook?
Is it not possible to just be where you are, when you are there?
Is it not possible to just sit down and wait for our souls to catch up with the rest of us?
I think it is.
"TV" appeared; in 1927 Philo Farnsworth filed for a patent on the first complete electronic television system, which he called the Image Dissector, and in the late 1940's the common person would be able to buy their first black&white tv-set. Since then, one more mind-boggling invention after the other has been made; technology has no bounds it seems. Much of what we do on a daily basis is done in front of or with the help of a screen. Amazing progress have been made through technology in the fields of medicine, science, diagnostics, physics, etc.etc as well as artistic areas. We can keep in touch with friends and family in most parts of the world, we can make friends with strangers by the click of a mouse, we can search for answers and information on any subject 24/7.
And to think that not long ago we were seduced by moving pictures on a large screen, and ecstatic by "talkies". Now we don't blink an eyelid at it, we just line up for the next new "i-thingy" and we do expect it all to work flawlessly, because exponentially we all seem to be running out of patience.
There is research that supports this with "unhappy" data showing more rage is all the rage; road-rage, parking rage, shopping-trolley rage, waiting-in-line rage, queueing-on-the-way-to-work rage, to mention but a few.
Seems that although we invent more and more time-saving devices and methods, we still don't have enough time, although, we do seem to always have time to be "raging".
Since we came up with the concept "hours" and that one day always has 24 of them, somehow we seem to continuously run out of "time". The time that we "save" with all these amazing time-saving devices we have invented, what do we do with it?
How is it that we are more stressed, anxious, over worked, stretched to the limit, sleepless, when we no longer spend any time collecting fire wood, hunting for food, plucking birds, catching fish, building our house, making our own furniture, ploughing the fields, making bricks, spinning the wool, picking the cotton, and so on?
And how is it possible that some people seem to have more time than others?
Statistics show that people are more anxious now than ever before in history, in spite of all the marvellous inventions we have come up with to make life less stressful, we are in fact stressing more than ever.
So we now need time to de-stress, to meditate, to relax, to get help to control and alleviate our anxieties. Yet, the number of hours in a day,...is still the same 24. Maybe the question is not so much about what we do with our hours, but who we spend them with. "Time", as in years, months, hours, seconds and so forth, is a human construct, something I believe we invented so we could function orderly and harmoniously, but they are all just terms for change, some incremental, others sweeping and large. The sun goes up, the sun goes down, in between the up and down; things, events, and experiences take place. Time is very sensitive to perception. When at the dentist, one hour can seem like four, when having a de-stressing massage, one hour may seem to fly by.
Waiting for ones teenager to return home safely from a party, one may experience every second they are late as a lifetime.
Time then, may be called a malleable concept. If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then maybe time is in the mind of the "beholder". Maybe it is not about the amount of time we have available so much as how we prioritise it, because aware of doing so or not, we do prioritise.
Chatting or texting while waiting in a waiting room, line, bustop, airport, etc. we miss an opportunity to get to know a new person. Sitting on the computer/ipad, gaming/working/emailing, while one of our family/friends needs our attention, we miss an opportunity for closeness.
Is not the whole point of having all these time saving devices so that we can spend more time with those that matters the most to us, or are they just elegant, sophisticated tools that encourage us to be more and more self-focused rather than other-focused?
Is it not possible to not answer the mobile/cell phone when it rings when we have company?
Is it not possible to occasionally leave the computer alone until the kids/significant other are in bed?
Is it not possible to turn to the person next to us on the train/bus/plane and start a conversation rather than text, twitt or facebook?
Is it not possible to just be where you are, when you are there?
Is it not possible to just sit down and wait for our souls to catch up with the rest of us?
I think it is.
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