Volume 1, number 12, December 1999 Time One of the fringe benefits of being a geologist is having a unique perspective of time. Not just the day to day perception that rules our lives, but geologic time. In terms of the Earth, 4.5 billion years’ worth of time. Most of us just need to get to work on time or to be so lucky as to take some time off. I’ve come to realize that my time, in the flesh I possess, is ridiculously short—therefore my focus on family and fun and my lackadaisical approach towards practically everything else. Nobody has ever gone to the grave wishing they had worked more, and driving like a maniac to get to work on time makes no sense at all. We should habitually show up late (except for bartenders), take long lunches and leave early. Everyone ought to spend more time on themselves and family instead of just their wallets. Rockefeller may have been a millionaire, but he still died and soon so shall we all. In comparison to 4.5 billion years, all of our lives, our entire species, will pass in a brilliant flash. No individual species, with the exception of fossil species like sharks and stuff, have ever lasted for more than 10 to 20 million years. Human intelligence is no guarantee against our inevitable extinction. Eventually our genes will mutate, possibly causing gross ornamentations like freakish horns and multiple sets of eyes. Eventually they will burn out altogether and cease to work their magic. Then the Earth, universe and time itself will go on spinning along happily without us. The other day I was given another opportunity to put time into perspective. I was crawling around underneath my Bar Car to put some more oil into the differential. It makes a terrible grinding noise and I thought more oil might help. It didn’t. Anyway I noticed that the frame of the car, where the bumper connects, has pretty much rusted away. The car was built in 1978 so it has taken twenty-one years for that chunk of metal to deteriorate to its present condition. I don’t know why, but I thought of a terribly unlucky friend of mine who ended up being murdered by his own son. This kid was eventually sentenced to 75 years in jail. A lifetime. He’ll probably get out sooner if he survives. I just thought it interesting to think of his sentence in another way. What if instead of being simply put into a cell for a finite period of time his sentence was based solely on the complete decomposition of a substantial chunk of brand new steel. Instead of checking the calendar every day, he could check his chunk of steel to see how much more the rust has grown. Eventually a warden would reassure him that soon the last specks of steel will be gone and he can finally be set free. His life, like rust, would be composed of a red stain where once his youth stood: all of his time wasted by a single moment of passion. We all need to put our lives into perspective, to remember the clock is ticking. Soon, in terms of geologic time, nothing of us will exist anymore to tell anyone or anything that we ever occurred. The Earth’s natural processes will scrub itself clean of us. Our petty little differences and futile actions against each other will no longer matter at all. In light of that rather dreary fact we should all spend our time blissfully. It’s precious. We shouldn’t waste it. I strongly recommend that if you don’t like what is happening in your life, then change. MOVE. My ancestors, Puritans, left England’s persecution and made a new life here on North America. We have never regretted it. Whatever you do, don’t suffer the fools. The less time you spend listening and reacting to their nonsense, the more time you can spend smelling roses, eating chocolate, or—perish the thought—loving your neighbors and walking around with a big smile on your face. Until next time, take time. Take a nice hot bath or something. Put your mind at peace. I’ll see you next year. | ||
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