time after time

I recently read a book for school called The Silent Language and was intrigued by a section about time. In the modern western world we are so bound to time that we can't even consciously shrug off its chains. We live and die by it, letting it dictate our lives and causing us stress beyond compare when we are out of sync with it. We could actually get by just fine without time, but we don't believe it so it will always be our overlord.

Today is a tidy example. My alarm went off at 4:30am. I convinced myself I could get ready in less time than I planned out last night and stayed in bed until 5am. At five, I panicked and jumped out of bed, raced to shower, get ready and get out the door, knowing that I had to leave by 5:30am to make my 6:10am ferry. I raced to catch the ferry and made it just under the wire. I arrived in Port Townsend then had to leave the office at 8:50am to pick up someone. I had appointments at 9:30, 10:45, 2:20, 3:30, 4:40 and then had to race to catch the 7:10pm ferry back home. I made a few phone calls from the car and was conscious about using all of my daytime minutes on my cell phone. Now I'm home and noticing that the clock is moving toward 9pm, when I must begin winding down for my 10pm bedtime, since I must get up at 6:15am. It's all focused on time. There were several moments today when it would have been wonderful for me and for others to be able to linger, to take all the time in the world for one another, and to just flush our watches. Perhaps we'll get there some day, but for now, I must go--my oven timer is buzzing at me.