It is ironic that one of the most popular types of wall clocks is the so
aptly named cuckoo clock. The irony is that without knowing the time many of us
would go completely nuts. Time is something that controls our lives. It keeps
order and harmony amongst a chaotic world. Imagine no schedules or calendars
regulating our day to day. The only marker of the passage of time would be the
rising and setting of the sun.
Pretty soon the days would just blend in to one another. We would have no
birthdays or holidays because we would not know when to celebrate. People would
become lazy and sloppy because deadlines would not exist. Depression and mental
illness would increase significantly because you would not have anything to look
forward to. Many of us make it through the day by reminding ourselves that at a
certain time something good will happen. For example, one of my favorite things
to do is to go see a new release at the movie theatre. It relaxes me and takes
me away from problems even if for a short while.
If there was no time schedule for the movie how I would I know when to get
there? It makes me upset to walk in to a movie late or have to sit there too
long because I got there early. Time gives us order and therefore keeps us sane.
I remember a romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins where Meg’s
character is the niece of Albert Einstein. In the movie an experiment is being
done on a participant who is staying in a small room with no clocks anywhere. He
has no idea what time it is. He can not even see if outside it is day or night.
This makes the participant go insane. I remember thinking as I watched this
movie that I would feel the same way. Not knowing the time would make me go
cuckoo. |
