Is time passing much faster? Some studies say that our day equals only 16 hours. Is this true?
I, particularly, do not believe this. A while back, I had an interesting experience that reflects on this question of time. “Arriving home, through a problem we did not have electricity. Therefore, we remained long hours without TV, internet, radio…what did we do? Were went to the front of the house and there we remained a longtime, watching the repair of the electrical net, and taking the advantage of inviting and sharing life among brothers.” I can testify that the night was much longer than normal, for we left the rhythm of many services, of much information on the Internet and of TV simply spending time with the brothers.
Reflecting on this fact, I think that what makes it appear that time passes much faster are the many works and things that we do day by day. Of course, this is part of the society in which we live. But it is certain that the many things that we do accelerate the time inside us.
In the past, the society was more rural, one didn’t have the frenzy of urban society. Therefore, that in the fields time appears to pass more slowly, because only the necessary was done…Today we do more than the necessary, being that the necessary already is a lot, and still, we want to do all at the same time.
Already we cannot change the “frenzy of time” inside us. The business is to know to organize better our work, to know to separate what is essential from the superfluous, to have organized schedules. As also to always know to reserve time to leave the craziness of everday. If you can, go to the beach, to a farm, go to a park, pass the day in a monastery, fish, finally, reserve at least one day of the month to leave the front of the TV, or the computer, cast off the watch, shut off the cellphone, and give yourself a rest, making time to pass much slower inside of you.
strong hug,
Ademir Costa
Ademir Costa is a seminarian for the Canção Nova.