The disregard of timekeeping

Happy Monday!

Yes, yes, I know it is actually Tuesday, but if Monday means the first day of work, and "I don't like Mondays" and "Monday blues" then for me, Tuesday is Monday. It is really lovely having Mondays off, but inevitably, return to work I must, and Tuesday is that day.

You've noticed too, haven't you, that time at the weekend zips by at the speed of sound, while when sitting in the walk-in clinic waiting to see a doctor in a room full of germ infested people it positively creeps by? Also, those few seconds before the elevator starts moving, or supper is reheating in the microwave take forever, while the 'just ten more minutes' of reading a book before getting ready in the morning not only fly by, but multiply, turning into twenty while you weren't paying attention.

I tend to be a clock watcher.  Not as compulsively as I used to be. I used to have to always know the time and I had weird quirks about timing things and how I couldn't start a task at awkward times, like 10:13 but would rather wait for 10:15.  The fives were ok, but I preferred the quarter hours. Fortunately that oddness is behind me, but I do still obsess a little about how long doing a thing takes, the result being I rush and multitask.

Lent is just around the corner - the corner being next weekend. This time next week we will be eating pancakes and saying fond farewells to chocolate. Alongside the usual fasting from treats, I am going to try to fast from timekeeping. I want to be able to really sink into reading and writing, and particularly praying. I want to declutter my daily activities, weed out the time suckers, and keep only those things that bring peace, creativity, and contentment. (This means, basically, no more endless hours spent online with inane surfing or watching tv shows).  This year the beginning of Lent coincides with Le Grand Move, both of which should conspire to help me break bad old habits and establish new routines, new priorities. During my time here in New Town, my interior life has become jangled and cluttered. This Lent, will be about reclamation.

I shall be practising the disregard of timekeeping.