Time Stood Still. Literally … one year ago, my watch stopped. My watch has said 6:17 since late March 2020. At the time, there was no physical way to get it fixed; stores were closed, I was out of state, the world had shut down. So, your natural question is, why haven’t I gotten it fixed since?
In many ways, the stopped watch is a metaphor for our lives over the last year. Time slowed, in some ways stood still, and so the watch stopped passing the time much in the same way my life slowed down. Choice evaporated and one day, one hour, one minute, looked indistinguishable from the next.
And then it became symbolic. A moment in time that I wonder how we will look back on and reminisce about. What will our takeaways be? What will we share and learn to inform future generations? How will our children be impacted and what will they take into their futures?
Everyone I speak to has a unique point of view on time. Older people feel the loss of time much more profoundly. Their time is limited and so each year is more precious, less fleeting. Young people missed milestones: birthday parties, graduations, proms, school year rituals. These moments in time don’t get a second chance. And yet, creativity has stepped in to mark occasions in memorable, unique and alternative ways. Different yet equal; different and better? Just different.
If you went without a social circle and human interaction, or were filling the role of caregiver for someone young or old, time was endless, without support, overwhelming or lonely. How will you reflect on this time?
Time has shown us to be resilient and creative, more focused on what matters and what we truly yearn to reclaim. Will we change our behaviors, wants and desires after the shared experience of the past year? Only time will tell.
And right now, it’s telling me it’s 6:17…