Daylight savings time officially marks the start of Spring and Summer in my book. I define these seasons by the daylight available well into the evening. This is my favorite time of the day.
Time is a funny thing. What is it, other than an evolution of life? This week our Community Journal Challenge prompts us to address this interesting subject.
I’ve never been a fan of things I cannot touch. I don’t like to download music and I worry endlessly about losing my precious photos that are digitally stored on my hard drive. I prefer the physical alternatives. I prefer things I can hold in my hand and store somewhere safe. This could be classified as a hoarding characteristic and realistically it probably is. It is because of this characteristic though that I have a hard time defining time. What is it? You cannot see it and you cannot touch it, but it’s there. It’s there quietly ticking away with the evolution of your life. With this in mind I cannot come up with a better definition for time other than life. Our time is our life and how we spend it defines who we are.
What do you spend your time doing? As much as I hate to admit it, the majority of my time (like most of society today) is spent in front of a screen. I work on the computer, I study on the computer, and I play on the computer. It’s hard to get away from the allure of having the world at your fingertips. I hate it. Really, I do.
Technology can be such a great thing for our society. It connects us in ways we have never connected before. It introduces us to like minded people and makes us friends with people who we will more than likely never meet in person. It enables us to prosper in business and to quickly share ideas. It saves us time and enriches our relationships. Technology brings us many positives, but its negatives are extremely negative in my opinion.
On the downside, it has eroded away our sense of realism and authenticity. It distracts us from the beauty that surrounds us. It captures us and before we know it a large chunk of time has eroded away. As much as I hate things that I cannot physically touch, I spend my time working on files and projects that will remain in the realm of technology throughout their entire existence. I can’t help but feel like some of this (not all, but some) is a waste of time and a waste of my life.
I wish that I did not have to spend so much time in front of a screen. Thankfully, after graduation in May I will be able to cut back on the amount of time spent here at my desk. I wish I had more time for many things. I wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen. I wish I had more time to spend drawing, painting, and sculpting. I wish I had more time to spend outdoors, particularly on the water. When I was a little girl my dad showed me something that has stuck with me and made me really ponder life since that day.
We climbed on the four-wheeler and rode out to the back corner of our farm. He told me to stay put as he fired up a chainsaw and cut down a tree that had started to die. I watched in amazement as that giant tree fell to the ground and all became silent. As I bounced over to the stump I witnessed time. I learned that day about the rings of a tree and how each represents the growth of one year. The rings each represent time and as a collective whole, the tree’s life. The wide rings represent years of expansive growth, reflecting good nutrients and substantial rainfall. The skinny rings represent years of drought when personal growth was stifled in an effort to preserve energy and carryout the daily necessities.
To put things simply, I wish I had more time to do the things I love. I wish that all of my years could be thick. This journal challenge has helped a lot with that this year. More than anything it has made me think and re-evaluate what is important to me. In my classes we often talk about the importance of honing your talents. In other words, it is just important to sharpen your axe as it is to chop the wood. Work hard, but make sure you are taking the time to do the things you love as well. Some years will require more energy and work while others will allow expansive personal growth. Make time for yourself, time away from work. Make time for personal growth. I have started to. The time you are given cannot be changed, but how you use that time can.
What do you spend your time doing? Is there something you wish you had more time to do?
Each week as part of the FOLK Community Journal Challenge I provide a writing prompt for you to blog about and link up here at FOLKlifestyle.com. Last week the prompt encouraged participants to break out their green thumb! I asked what plants you would be growing in your gardens this year and what some of your favorite fresh food recipes were. You can read more about my garden plans, the plans of many others, and link up your own plans HERE. Start planning your garden around the things you want to spend your time doing. If you love strawberry jam and would like to make your own, plan to plant some strawberries… or plant some kumquats for kumquat marmalade.
The featured link up of the week was Tiffany at Flown the Coop.
“My advice is to be FREE to dig! It can be a big elaborate garden or a funky container garden. Do what you can and enjoy getting your hands dirty! Be brave and break out your Green thumb!” – Tiffany
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» 2013 FOLK Journal Agenda » Time: An Evolution of Life
america, American-made, challenge, community, FOLK, journal, journaling, life, Made in America, photography, Prompt, share, time, tree, usa, Writing
Wow! Thanks for picking me as the featured link of the week. What an honor!!!
~Tiffany
Sharpening the ax is as important as chopping the wood. That is an image that will stay with me.
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I really liked how you said “I wish I had more time to do the things I love. I wish that all of my years could be thick.” I have said to myself recently that I know I have time in my day to do things I want to do if only I would spend less time doing the wrong things. So instead of wasting time on social media, I could be spending small chunks of time working on a sewing or knitting project or outside in the garden. It’s time to work on some thick years…
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[...] as I discussed in last week’s Journal Challenge, how you spend your time determines how you spend your life. Like the rings of a tree, some years [...]
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