One night recently I was without my bedroom clock. Because I'm not on any schedule I didn't think too much about it, until I turned out the lights and realized I didn't know what time it was.
How strange it was to lie in my bed, in the dark with no way to tell time. I realized how much time rules our lives. Every room in our house has a clock in it - except the bathrooms. The kitchen actually has three clocks -- the one on the wall, the one on the stove and the one on the microwave. Our respective study and studios have one on the wall and the time on our computers.
There I lay feeling as if I'd gone into a delightful abyss - of timelessness. Did I feel adrift in a bad way or did I feel free? Of course I felt free -- but it was also a bit intimidating. It was almost as if I were the last person on a silent earth.
Is time actually the thing that gives importance to my days? Its lunchtime - must eat - its time to take pills - its time to go pick up the mail. My life seems ruled by TIME. I then realized that time is really what holds a society together. It wouldn't function at all if everyone was wandering around heedless of time. How would we know when to meet -- how would we know when to be at work. Time is sort of the contract we have as humans. Maybe someday I'll cover all the clocks, close down all the computers, and see what it is like to really 'float' in time. "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein
Oh woe is me! I was up until midnight on Saturday night turning all of our Moppet clocks ahead one hour! Yes, I could have set them ahead earlier but personally I am quite opposed to this time change so I refuse to make it any sooner than necessary
Whoever in the world thought this up to begin with? A whole hour is lost -- just disappears with the turn of the clock hands. Why would anyone think that is a 'good' thing.
Hmmm - first we gain a day (in February) and then we lose an hour in March. Oh, my if only I ran the world (or at least had control of all the clocks) this kind of thing would never would happen. "How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flew, How did it get so late so soon?" - Dr Seuss
With Leap Year and daylight savings time appearing within a few weeks of each other, I just had to explore 'time' as a subject.
Deep within our history, the beginning of our 'time concept' began. The very first people who populated this earth used the stars in the sky. From these they determined when it was time to move. Being hunter gatherers they depended on nature to guide their days, nights and movements.
'Water clocks' were among the earliest time keeping devices that didn't use the observation of the stars. The ancient Greeks, it is believed, began using water clocks around 325 BC. They were also used, in various forms, by other countries such as Egypt and Japan.
'Galieo's pendulum clock' In 1656, 'Christian Huygens' (a Dutch scientist) made the first 'Pendulum clock with a mechanism using a 'natural' period of oscillation. Galileo is credited in most historical books for the invention of the pendulum as early as 1582 but his design, shown above, was not built before his death. Huygens' clock, when built, had an error of 'less than only one minute a day'. A fantastic 'leap' for timekeeping.
Later on came the spring assembly. This brought a much 'truer' technique of keeping time.
Oh how I loved to look at my grandfather's pocket watch. It would be considered an antique today, but to take off the back and watch it mark the seconds and minutes with with its little gears was an adventure to a young girl.
For the most part, today our clocks and watches are digital. I'm sure they keep much better time than those that required a clear night sky, water, pendulums and little gears and springs. But somehow along the way,the mystery and wonder of 'time' as an essence, has faded into the past. Did it not seem a bit more precious when we had to wind our watches? When it was not a thing to be manipulated as it is today?
As I reset our household clocks for Daylight Savings Time I will question our tinkering with time. And our apparent quest to 'tame' it to our own desires. "By putting forward the hands of the clock you shall not advance the hour." - Victor Hugo
