Juliet Bennett's Blog

I’m late

6 Oct ’09 2 Comments Written by Juliet Bennett

Time is my most valued asset. Time is money. And money (in its intended design) is a store of time. Money effectively allows us to trade our time for the time of others.

Numbers in bank accounts provide me no pleasure. It seems to provide a deluded sense of security. Financial collapses happen too regularly to place all my eggs in that basket. I’ve just been learning about Argentina in the 90s – those digits can mean wealth one day and mean nothing the next. Accumulation of capital, anything material, or even digital, has little value to me  – while time lost can never be regained.

I LOVE time alone. Time in silence. Time in chaos. Writing. Reading. Time spent deep in conversation. Time relaxing. Time eating. Time sleeping.

And there is nothing worse to me than time lost or wasted. Waiting in line. Sitting in traffic. Computers crashing. Cleaning up.

My choice of rabbit costume for my cousin’s Alice in Wonderland party was more than appropriate. In trying to maximise how I use my time I am often be running late or arrive just in the nick of time.

Strangely enough following this logic I actually like it when people are late or even when they blow off our plans (unless I’m hungry and I’m waiting for dinner) I feel like I’ve being given a gift – time I would otherwise not have had. If I’m at home this means time to clean up my messy papers, pay a bill, send an invoice – all the things I endlessly put-off ‘until tomorrow.’ If I’m out I always have a book in my bag and more than happy to sit in my car and read. Random yes I know.

I love the way sometimes time speeds up, and sometimes it slows right down. Sometimes I like to press pause – daydream, reminisce, go on a wild rollarcoaster ride of contemplation – and hit play again to realign my mind with the ticking clock.

This entry was initially inspired a few days ago when my yoga teacher told us about her friend’s parents house being destroyed by a fire. The girl got out with nothing but her mobile phone. Her parents were overseas and when she called them to tell them the news and they responded by saying: “We had too much anyway.”

“It makes you realise that the things that matter are the things that can’t be taken away from you,” her friend had said to her. “Friendships, knowledge, experiences, your yoga practice. Material assets are not what is most valuable in life… It really makes you think about where you put your time.” True words of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

It’s quite Taoist hey! Not really what you expect in the Christian Bible (one of many unexpected things you can find in there) The whole of this short book of Ecclesiastes is an interesting and slightly depressing rant about the meaning of life – times haven’t changed as much as we’d like to think.

To conclude this messy rant about time I would like to say that there really is a time for everything. And as you all know I think it’s about time for peace.

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2 Comments

  1. Kelly
    6 Oct ’09    

    I see your point but unfortunately we all need money to live! I’d rather live very comfortably (eventually!) and Have heaps of spare time… 🙂

    Reply
  2. Juliet Bennett
    8 Oct ’09    

    I agree with you Kel – it’s just I guess a question of priority and goals. Money is a MEANS OF EXCHANGE and I guess it’s the focus on CAPITAL ACCUMULATION that seems to be a misguided goal. History shows that capital can be worthless overnight. Who knows which way the next economic crisis will go. What will the world look like when China is the superpower? Where will the next war occurs and what will it be over? How will our planet respond to our continuing abuse of natural resources and over-population? It seems there no point in living in hope of a comfortable future when that comfort may be demolished by other forces – yes we do have to plan for the future, but we have to make sure we don’t forget to live in the present.

    Maybe a good motto is: use money to live but don’t live to make money…

    Food for thought…

    Reply

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