Time. The word itself screams out many ideas, dreams, systems, methods, formulas, etc,. The subject of time is so broad because people talk about it a lot. One of the most obvious reasons for man’s fascination over time is the thought that it affects everyone. Time dictates our movements; we cannot escape from it.
Using – controlling – time
When you want to utilize time to its full extent, you have to prepare for it. The most common example is when a student has to study for an exam. Studying in advance will help the student answer the test confidently, and not to waste his or her time staring at the test paper, waiting for an answer to suddenly pop into his or her head like a light bulb.
Most of the time, the uncertainty of time captures us in our most vulnerable disposition – when we are caught off guard. For example, when we are asked to read an excerpt from a book in front of many people, the extent of our knowledge about the subject will determine our performance. If one had previously practiced reading in front of many people, doing it again is a breeze. Using time wisely comes down to preparation and practice.
Adjusting in troubled times
Troubling times always come every now and then in our lives. Wars can change societies and leave marks in history, and within a few seconds, natural disasters can wipe out an entire city that took many years to establish. A life-long friendship could also be destroyed by a few minutes’ worth of argument. People could lose their homes, their loved ones, everything they ever worked for in a blink of an eye.
Time, in a sense, is just like people – it changes. Going back in time to change things in the past is the desire of many. From Hermione’s Time Turner to The Doctor’s TARDIS, there have been plots and dreams that have an earnest wish to change time to make it work in one’s favor.
In reality, the technology for time travel is a far-fetched idea that has yet to exist or be completely disproven. We deal with the times, both good and bad, because there is nothing we can do to change what has happened. That is how we adjust—we change along with it, knowing that the past cannot do the same thing for us.
It is gradual, though. In the era of fastfood and free information, people are hungry for instant gratification. There is hope for things to automatically get better whenever a new president steps into office, as if the status of a country could change overnight.
Change takes time, and it is something we cannot fast forward. The only thing we can do is control the manner we respond to it.
The world has an infinite amount of time, yet there is little time for anything. In idleness, every second feels like days; in crammed activity, every second is precious and there is always a need to ask for more. The only time that defines both the past and the future is the time you are living in right now.
The time people take to ponder about the changing society will be the time that changes society. If what we do know somehow makes a change and affects everyone in our society, then why not make every step conscious and every second count? Why wait for the New Year to make a resolution when you are new and you become older at every passing second?
Time changes people
In earlier centuries, the context of beauty is defined by full-figured women. Today, there are girls who starve themselves or make themselves sick just to be considered ‘pretty’. In the early 90s, teens that were in front of their computer for more than three hours are of “lower” status quo. Today, the innovation of the World Wide Web has made everyone online, 24/7. The 1960s was the decade of feminism and the British Invasion, the 1970s was the time of Star Wars and Rock ‘n Roll, the 1980s was the decade of disco and Michael Jackson, and the 1990s celebrated the birth of the Internet, and the rest is history.
The point is, time and the things that go with the times inevitably change. Trends and time constantly fluctuate, affecting the people in their era. It is the times that dictate the social norms people must abide. Subtly, the times change and so do the people.
Time does not control you; it is what you make of it now, not the things before that you wish you could change. You cannot change time, you can only change the way you see and adapt to it. There will always be something new. The question is, whether you will accept change.
