TIME JOCKEY

Up at eight

We can’t be late

For Mathew & Son

‘cos they won’t wait

Cat Stevens

Is this the sort of refrain that runs through your head at least 5 days a week?

In our consumer dominated society time is an entity which dominates most peoples lives.

Time is money.

Fair enough. This is certainly true from a purely business perspective. How does this translate to the average working person though.

Security is a basic survival instinct; so a definite proportion of available time has to be devoted to this issue.

Our rampant consumer society has warped peoples attitudes to what is actually necessary for this security. Only by having all the latest on offer do we now consider ourselves to be secure. As all these latest gizmos cost money; it is therefore necessary to spend more time earning this. Enough is never enough any more.

So the amount of time allocated to obtaining security has to increase; reducing the amount of time available for other activities, or to actually enjoy the things we can now afford.

Not many people are fortunate enough to work in occupations which fulfill both their intellectual and emotional needs. The latter usually gets more and more neglected in a persons life.

We have also turned in to a society which expects instant and constant sensory gratification or stimulation. Being a social animal; nobody likes to feel left out of the loop. Consequently we don’t want to miss out on being part of the latest fad that everyone is talking about.

Fitting all these activities in to our now reduced amount of available time starts requiring constant organisation.

Doing things in a particular time frame is necessary for functional every day living. The more we try and put in our lives though, the less time we are able to allocate to any particular activity.

Variety is a necessary way of keeping an active and interested mind. Trying to impose too many inputs though simply turns much of it in to a blur. What is the point of so many activities that most get forgotten  almost as soon as they are over.

EVERY BODY IS SO BUSY DOING;THEY LOSE THE ABILITY TO ACTUALLY BE.

When life starts to get run on such a tight schedule, any sort of delay or hiccup brings about a considerable amount of stress.

This sort of lifestyle usually impacts most strongly on children. Parents are often too tired or stressed to give them the attention they need. Not getting this attention can lead to all sorts of emotional problems; which continue in to adulthood. Children who have not been able to find a supportive, or firm, foundation within their own family are more prone to destructive, or anti-social behavior. The consequences to overall society gets larger as the numbers of people caught in this cycle increases.

Having an active and fulfilling life should be the aim and right of every person.  Many now consider so many things to be necessities though, that they are constantly chasing the clock attempting to get everything done.

Being constantly entertained or occupied means there is actually no time spent on trying to discover who you might actually be, or are possibly capable of.

Your life becomes what you are, not who you are.

Having every possession or experience available means very little; if your life has become an empty shell, or your emotional foundations have fallen to pieces behind you.

Many people are now very uncomfortable if they suddenly find themselves alone, with no external stimulus. Being alone in your own company has become something to be afraid of. Relying totally on an  external source for a meaning to life means you are very poorly equipped to cope with any sort of major upset or stress.

Are you able to just sit down for longer than a few minutes without a radio or television on, and just feel the rhythms of your own body?

Can you stop the constant chatter in your head from driving you on to the next activity?

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