Web posted Friday, June 22, 2001

Times Flies, But People Move At The Speed Of Light

BY KELLY HERTZ P&D Managing Editor

"Where does the time go?"

I hear that question so often from so many people these days -- at least when they allow themselves the time to ask.

At no time does the slippery speed of time become more apparent than during the great lie that is summer. The lie is this: At the dawn of June, the summer looks like a wide-open horizon of opportunity to do all those things that will surely recharge our batteries; but then in a heartbeat, June turns into July and the endless days of summer suddenly seem numbered.

And here we are again. Independence Day will be here in 12 days; several years ago, I wrote that it appeared the name of this holiday had been changed from the Fourth of July to the Fourth of July Already, because that was how many people -- shocked by the rapid passage of early summer -- referred to it. Well, the same holds true today: Even though the first official day of summer was just Thursday, I'm encountering those typical late June comments that, when the Fourth arrives, "summer is practically over."

I can't accept that. I just can't. After all, it was Memorial Day just the other day. And come to think of it, it was still winter just the day before that ...

Hmm, where does the time go?

In fact, time is not going anywhere in any particular hurry; we are the ones in the fast lane. We are chronically too busy to contemplate the simple, singular moments that make up a day but tend to pass us like trivial bits of dust sailing on the spring/summer/fall/winter breeze.

"'Stop and smell the roses'? Which off-ramp was that on?"

We are a society stuck on treadmills of hyperactivity. We complain constantly about the lack of time to do this or that, and then marvel at how quickly all that time we say we don't have just passes us by.

Americans are statistically among the hardest workers on the planet. We put in more hours on the job or in the name of work than practically anyone else, and we are also considered among the world's most productive people. For that, we all deserve an extra 10 minutes for lunch break.

But I'm not sure all that hard work and productivity is such a good thing. It certainly suggests a work ethic locked in overdrive, but it also indicates we are too consumed with work and material acquisition to really enjoy life on patient, leisurely terms.

Actually, our non-work lives aren't that much better. Many of us crowd our off-duty schedules with various plans, destinations and activities. Again, we don't allow ourselves a few moments to stop and catch a time-savoring breath.

As a result of our work and our play, time zips right past our preoccupied minds. It may seem that some ethereal Hand is actually spinning our globe faster and faster, but by my calculations 60 seconds is still 60 seconds. We are too busy living too fast to appreciate the meandering stream of time.

Of course, another culprit in the mystery of time is our own time here: The older we get, the more we have to remember. Thus, each year seems shorter when compared to the ever-lengthening backlog of our life's memories.

We can do nothing about that, but we can do something about our busy lifestyles.

I suspect the secret to slowing down time is to occasionally downshift our lives. We don't have to work all the time, do we? We mustn't always be in a hurry to get somewhere or do something, must we? Maybe, just maybe, we should stop running every once in a while and spend a moment watching a sunset fade away into a long, purple, dreamy night. Maybe the distant stars, which seem timeless, offer us better lessons in how life should be lived. Maybe these things can train us to better enjoy life, not race with it or brace for it.

All this is just theory, of course, because I certainly can't prove any of it. I expend far too much of my time worrying about tomorrow and worrying about yesterday than I do grasping the day at hand. I resolve every year to change all that, to allow myself the time to enjoy life more. But now, all too soon, I am once again approaching the Fourth of July Already with those resolutions mostly unrealized. Time does indeed fly. Eventually, it always seems to take me along for the ride.

One of these days, I really must find the time to miss the flight. So should we all.

To contact Kelly Hertz, e-mail him at khertz@yankton.net.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001

Answers

And the OLDER I GET...the FASTER it flies!

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001

No kidding!

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001

Who said that? Eh? Getting older? BWAHAHA... me?!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2001