Spring Break
It's about time to appreciate time
Kerry Hart
Issue date: 1/8/09 Section: Forum
Over winter break I battled the snow and ice-covered roads heading north to my parents' house in Hood River. Once there, I had plans to do a lot of visiting, shopping and celebrating the holidays. After all, Christmas is a time to enjoy the company of family and friends, eat, go to parties and be merry. Despite my forecasted busyness, my plans ended up somewhat different than intended.
Instead, for a lot of the time, I found myself snowbound inside, unable to travel anywhere. At first I was distressed at this captivity; however, it gave me much time to slow down and think about life.
One typical afternoon, I sat by the fireplace, cup of tea in hand, gazing out at the three-foot drifts. As I sat there trying to be tranquil, I realized how long it had been since I really slowed down enough to enjoy the moment.
So often I find myself scurrying around with school work to complete, papers to grade, people to meet and … oh yeah, a thesis to write. Time and time again I find myself up against the wall, realizing the excessive amount of tasks on my plate. As a result, I rush everywhere, attempting to reach all the deadlines.
Our world and society today don't help ease this problem of rushing.
I guess some would see me as stuck in the dark ages, especially considering I still record my debit card payments in a transaction book.
I remember when I had plenty of time to do this while paying for my items at the counter. Now, the clerks are trained to have you in and out of line so fast I barely have time to swipe my card, remember my pin number and move out of the way.
It is good to have efficiency in our systems. Faster check-out times equals less waiting time. It is sad, however, that in all haste to get things done, genuine human-ness is lost; I begin to feel more like an animal being herded through a gate.
Those days on which I rush from task to task, I often catch myself and wonder if I'm truly benefiting. For instance, am I gaining anything from writing a term paper the night before when I don't take time to even let the ideas process? Probably not.
Instead, for a lot of the time, I found myself snowbound inside, unable to travel anywhere. At first I was distressed at this captivity; however, it gave me much time to slow down and think about life.
One typical afternoon, I sat by the fireplace, cup of tea in hand, gazing out at the three-foot drifts. As I sat there trying to be tranquil, I realized how long it had been since I really slowed down enough to enjoy the moment.
So often I find myself scurrying around with school work to complete, papers to grade, people to meet and … oh yeah, a thesis to write. Time and time again I find myself up against the wall, realizing the excessive amount of tasks on my plate. As a result, I rush everywhere, attempting to reach all the deadlines.
Our world and society today don't help ease this problem of rushing.
I guess some would see me as stuck in the dark ages, especially considering I still record my debit card payments in a transaction book.
I remember when I had plenty of time to do this while paying for my items at the counter. Now, the clerks are trained to have you in and out of line so fast I barely have time to swipe my card, remember my pin number and move out of the way.
It is good to have efficiency in our systems. Faster check-out times equals less waiting time. It is sad, however, that in all haste to get things done, genuine human-ness is lost; I begin to feel more like an animal being herded through a gate.
Those days on which I rush from task to task, I often catch myself and wonder if I'm truly benefiting. For instance, am I gaining anything from writing a term paper the night before when I don't take time to even let the ideas process? Probably not.
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