Two hands moving

Our lives, pretty much, revolve around time.

Most of us don’t consider the thing. The “time” itself. The “what” of it. I mean, it seems like it just should be some force of nature. But humans created the organization of time. And as such, the “structured” version of itself, is not that old.

As late as the 19th century, is when we truly got the absolute “standard” of time. People really had to put their little heads together to create the concept of time as we know it now.

At least that is what a study shows, at the U of Penn. It reports, that “before the late 19th century, time wasn’t that big a deal.” They report that it all changed with the good old Industrial Revolution. And of course, with things like the railroad, and the telegraph. The world became much more connected. More globalized, if you will.

So when people around the world started to get more connected, there became a push for everyone to be on the same time set. A standard was needed because everything was all willy-nilly for the most part. This study reported that “roughly until the 1880s in the United States, you had up to 75 different railway times in use… In Chicago there were three times being used, in Kansas City there were five, and in St. Louis there were six.” That is a big bunch of Train Whistles, I’ll tell you.

So you might imagine all the confusion. Until a bunch of nerds and geeks got together and hammered things out. There were a bucket-load of meetings, conferences, discussions, and even riots, about this standard. Finally, finally, finally, during the popularity of air travel after WWII, people began to accept the standards worldwide. And there it is. The wrinkle in time got ironed out.

This all came up when I looked at my calendar this morning. The end of January, 2018. Where in THE heck did that month go? 2018 hardly seems like a viable year, at this point. And we are already finished with the first month? Woooosh.

Time is fleeting. As such. And the older we get, the faster it fleets. Right out of the dock, and into the bay.

Using it wisely is the key, I think. And that is completely unique to each and every one of us.

That study, says that the standardization of time happened in this world very recently. But I suggest, since the beginning of time, that our “true” standard was already in place. There is a quote by Sarah Dessen, which sums it up rather nicely, I think. “There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise, you’ll never understand what it’s saying.”

And that is what time it is. All the time.

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“Better to start early than finish late.”
― J.R. Rim

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“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
― Dr. Seuss

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“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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