Wasting Time

Picture this: you're sitting quietly, watching this documentary on the rise and fall of the stucco ceilings. At first you think the subject matter is quite promising but, when the expert starts explaining that stucco stalactites in 70's basements were actually phallic representations, you suddenly realize you wasted 2 hours of your life... Two hours you would never get back or, at best, would be added on to the end of your life which you may not want to extend anyway (who wants an additional 2 hours of agony in a hospital?)! Like most people, I don't like wasting my time but I often only realize that I've wasted it after the fact, once things are said and done.

Time wasting was not always an issue with me. When I was young, I could spend hours playing with my GI Joe or waiting to catch a glimpse of my cute neighbor. But, when I was around 16 or so, I was really hit hard by the lyrics of Pink Floyd's song "Time". At one point it says: "... shorter of breath and one day closer to death...". Wow, really powerful stuff. Give me that any day over "My love will go on..."! How many songs can be written with the word love? I know love is important but isn't there a limit? Considering that sleep and food are as important if not more so than love, why aren't there more songs about that? Something like "...Fell asleep on the couch, woke up to the sounds of Lawrence Welk...". Back to the point though, I can actually remember where I was when I understood the full meaning of those lyrics (driving west on Boulevard Forest, near the Hospital, on a clear spring day). Life is finite, there is no escaping that fact but, when your a 16 year old kid, realizing it is a rude awakening. From that point on, I tried to use my time as if it was something precious, although I must admit my prioritization was not always the best.

Now that I think of it though, wasting time in itself may sometimes be a worthwhile. On a few occasions, wasting time has allowed my to get my mind off of life's usual crap or, just for a time, made me feel like a kid again; and that can't be all that bad!