Backflip

Time. Such a strange phenomenon.  Today we measure it using sophisticated clocks. Our ancestors used the placement of the sun and start to tell time. However telling time itself remains elusive.

Two people can be doing the same task in the same space and can take the same amount on minutes. However their perceptions of the time spend completing the task can be completely different. Instances such as this are where we get the saying “Time flies when you’re having fun”.

I can’t pretend like I understand time or how it works for different people. However I did want to share an interesting weekend dealing with time.

Last weekend was Family Camp 2009 which is a weekend my whole church (TLJC) heads out to a camp and spends the long weekend together. It’s always a great time and something to look forward to. This year had an extra bonus of going someplace new which I found exciting. I was not disappointed.

I had a great weekend at camp, hanging out with friends, goin to fires, eatin’ great food, having fun, fellowship, playing sports and being out in nature. It always seemed like there was something to do if I wanted but I never felt rushed or pressed for time.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand. This weekend seemed to last extremely long. There was plenty of time to hang out and participate in all the events I wanted. There was also time to sit around and read or wander around in the woods. Time to do everything I wanted and still time left over for extra enjoyment.

It seemed like I got to camp and time froze. I didn’t have to get up at x hour or be somewhere at x hour if I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to drop something and go do something else. I felt suspended and free. I didn’t have to acknowledge time.

If I had to guess I’d say not having a set schedule made time appear to last longer. I definitely wasn’t contemplating what I was going to do after work or for dinner or that night. It was all just going to happen when it happened and I didn’t have to worry about it. It was great not having to be somewhere and to just be in the present. In the current moment.

This doesn’t really get me any closer to understanding how time works. But it was a great feeling to be present and to enjoy the current moment instead of thinking on what was around the next tick of the hour hand.

Any thoughts out there on time? How can is “slow down” and “speed up” for different people? Is it possible to live in “slow down” mode all the time? Would we want to if we could? Seems like this idea spawns more questions than it answers.

Tags: Family Camp 2009, time, TLJC

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm and is filed under About, Trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.