Piddling Over An Abstraction

Have you got five minutes to spare?

No?

No time, you say?

Okay, if you had the time, what would you do with it?

Take your time and think.

I’m in no rush for I, personally, have all the time in the world.

Please stop looking at your watch phone.

Try to judge time’s movement without mechanics.

When was the last time you considered what time even means?

Or time as more than a deadline?

Is a five-minute wait a waste of time for you?

Depends on the situation, you say?

Why?

No matter the situation, five minutes can pass only as five minutes, right?

Do you think time has a personality?

Or can change characteristics?

Or shapes?

Or subtleties?

Or transcend its association with the second hand?

Okay, let’s try something different then.

Don’t sigh. Just give me a second.

Or a minute.

Or two.

Sorry, I got a little greed there. I know you’re in a hurry.

My time is up, you say?

But I never claimed it.

I was under the impression it was yours.

Listen, we both know you don’t have time for any of this nonsensical bullshit so, how about if we rephrase the initial request from, “Have you got five minutes to spare?” to…

“Are you free for five minutes?”

What do you mean it’s essentially the same question?

I don’t think so.

I think there is a world of difference between the two questions.

To state the obvious…

Question one is all about possession.

Question two is all about freedom.

To me anyway.

Take another look.

I’ll wait.

As I said, I’m in no rush.

While we wait, I’ll quote some relative definitions from The American College Dictionary, Kinokuniya Asian Edition.

Apparently, it’s “The Most Authoritative Desk Dictionary Ever Published” and “Used in Practically Every College in the United States.”

And it says, “got” is the past participle of “get.”

And it says, “get” means to obtain, gain, or acquire by any means.

Can one really do that with time?

Can you?

Do you got any extra time in your pocket you can spare?

How about in a safety deposit box?

Can we invest our time like our money?

Can you put away time a little at a time, you know, for a rainy day fund?

Does interest on our invested time accrue.

Does your portfolio include a Time Mutual Fund?

Maybe our time investment is automatic.

A natural time banking phenomenon.

You don’t see too many elderly folks in a rush, do you?

Paradoxically, it’s as if they have a surplus of the stuff.

Random House, etcetera, etcetera, has 17 different definitions for “freedom” so let’s, or shall I say, let me choose the most appropriate.

They’re all pretty good, actually.

Definition 4. says freedom is a personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery.

6. says it’s exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

And 7. says it’s the power of determining one’s or its own action.

Definition 8. gets philosophical by saying freedom is the condition of the will as the volitional instigator of human actions; relative self-determination.

By the way, “get” has 19 definitions.

I used the first one.

If you have the time, feel free to look the rest up for yourself.

#ofthejournals

7 thoughts on “Piddling Over An Abstraction”

Say it like you mean it

Discover more from KURT BRINDLEY

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading