Stealing time

It seems to me that the whole point of the industrial revolution was the development of "labor-saving devices."

At the factory level that meant that one machine could do the work of many laborers; on the home level it meant that time-consuming tasks like washing laundry and doing dishes could be done by a machine, freeing up the household labor for other, more important tasks.

So when did we cross over into the realm where those so-called labor-saving devices consumed more time than they freed up? This sign, at the Washington State Ferry Terminal in Seattle is advertising Wi-Fi: oh, goody; riding on the ferry, watching the waves roll by, sitting outside with your face to the sun and listening to the cry of the gulls, need no longer be a complete waste of time.

Now you can spend that time on your computer, checking email, surfing the internet, blogging, playing bridge or poker, shopping; all activities presumably having more value than just enjoying the ride, chatting with fellow travelers, meditating or napping.

Ah, but I am too critical. Perhaps it just means that those who are under considerable job stress have the option of reducing that stress; that those whose work days are relentlessly circumscribed by the challenge of commuting back and forth to a small island can leave home half an hour later and still begin to work, or leave work half an hour earlier and still continue to work, thus giving them more time at home with their families.

How quick we are to leap to conclusions like this, to assume -- which, as my daughter says, "makes an ass of U and Me." The fact is that we are really only capable of observing and understanding ourselves, and even that is the work of a lifetime. It is even more difficult to understand the motivations of others, but few of us make that effort; it is far easier to judge than to comprehend -- a human tendency that was probably initially designed as a protective device but which now contributes to that feeling of isolation that plagues so many of us.

As I watch communities under stress it seems clear that this tendency to judge other people's actions splits us apart at least as effectively as do the actions themselves. And yet the effort to take the time to listen and comprehend, to reach a compromise, to agree to "let bygones be bygones" -- the work of truth and reconciliation -- is regarded by much of society with contempt and suspicion, the time-wasting of liberal do-gooders.

So does that mean it is time that is the culprit; time that keeps us from being better neighbors, or better parents, or better friends; time that keeps us from doing a better job at whatever it is we are tackling in the moment; time that keeps us rushing from task to task, never quite giving anything the attention it deserves? Surely that is what this sign suggests.

But I rather suspect it is not time that is the problem but rather the choices we make on how to spend our time. And, interestingly enough, those choices we make in one moment influence, in turn, the choices that we make in the next. What I choose to watch or read influences my actions, which then have repercussions of their own... it's a cycle, one which I am often only able to break by keeping to-do lists to remind myself of my priorities, so that I don't drift too far away from the goals I set for myself.

But ultimately I find that the most effective way to break the cycle is to stop, once a day, to remove myself and re-evaluate. And, interestingly enough, when I stop and pay attention, time is no longer the enemy, or something that runs away with me, or a precious jewel to be stolen or hoarded. It becomes, for those few moments, absolutely infinite, limitless, totally freeing; a deep well of joy, love and insight from which to drink.

And, having done so, I am refreshed, and ready once again for the journey.