Showing posts with label time. Show all posts

Harmonizing Life with Time

…by virtue of Discipline

By Apolinario Villalobos

We cannot control time, much more, go against its ticking hands. But we can live in harmony with it by virtue of discipline. We cannot turn back the hands of time, as the song says, so we have to synchronize our life with it for our own advantage.

Synchronizing with time and the degree that calls for it differs according to culture and environment. In Spain, siesta time after lunch till early afternoon is an integral part of the people’s culture. Their “nighttime” is also long, lasting till the wee hours of the morning. Meanwhile, in other countries, the people are not conscious of time.

In a well- disciplined country like Japan, time is treated with respect. And, so is in the United States, where time is followed to the last second, in which at the strike of five in a workplace, everything is dropped. In European countries, the same treatment of time is observed – with strictness, hinged on discipline.

The standard work period is eight hours. But to date, because of the many factors that affect the daily lives of the people, especially, traffic, “broken time”  or “flexible or flexi time” is applied by some companies, for as long as the eight-hour period is completed. Adjustment is made on the work period of employees in consideration of the traffic and distance that needs to be covered by commuting from their home.

On the other hand, regardless of whether we are in a workplace, at home or just anywhere, time is very much part of our activity…our life. Practically, since the first day that life is developed in the womb of the mother, time element is already involved, such as the number of days until the fetus finally breaths the fresh air as it comes out into the world. And, the development of the growing child is reckoned by phases of time– physically, mentally, and emotionally.

In wrapping up, the best thing to do, if we do not want to be hassled then, is by being always ahead of time. Whatever time is “earned” can always be used for some other things that we need to make our life comfortable. We should, however, remember always, that living in harmony with time should be tempered with discipline.

Respect for Time, Discipline and Death

By Apolinario Villalobos

Practically, everybody is familiar with the adage, “we cannot turn back the hands of time”. But still, many do not have a full understanding of what it means and its effect to our life. They may also appreciate such adage that serves as a reminder, but they are not serious about it.

Time is the most important factor that can affect life as the world is at its mercy. Regretting for the lost time is like crying over spilled milk or precious water. We may cry our eyes dry and punch our chest with clinched fist while uttering hundreds of mea culpa, but what have been spilled can no longer be recovered. We cry over lost opportunities because we were late for appointments. We lost a prospective job because we were late for the interview. We missed our flight because we did not wake up early, etc.

Anything that is not respected is disregarded or taken for granted, and that is what many people do to time most often. Many forgot that time is used to reckon our physical and mental development, how we fare as we trudge along the road of life, and in giving us a chance to change for the better. We always say, “…give me time” which simply means, “…give me a chance”.

Time is so much a part of our life that many people become uneasy if they do not glance at a watch every hour of the day. Everything that we do is controlled by time, from waking up until we go back to bed. Time controls our job, our meals, even our use of the toilet. We even use it to warn others about their misdoings by telling them, “how many times did I tell you….”. Even our pulse and heartbeat are timed to check if we are physically fit.

If time controls us, discipline compels us to abide by its ticking, such that husbands must be home before midnight, employees must be at their post at certain designated time, minors must be home not later than ten in the evening, meals should be taken at certain times of the day till evening, medicines should be taken at certain times, etc. Respect for time and utmost discipline cannot be separated as without the other, our life and the world will be in a topsy-turvy state.

We should also be thankful to the guy who discovered time and those who invented gadgets that we need to measure the extent of our life in this world. Time tells us when we should “depart” from this world, unless it is cut short by unexpected events resulting to what we call as as “untimely” death.

EVERYTHING MOVES WITH TIME

By Apolinario Villalobos

Nothing stays in its place permanently as Time carries everything along its current. However, beings with consciousness and with deciding ability may metamorphose into a higher or better state. Some may just be contented with what they already are…it is a choice. Along this line, ambition can push a person to strive.

While some are in a hurry to move on or up, others who have not learned their lesson take their time which they later regret because they realized, though, too late, that indeed, they cannot move back the hands of time. With regret and envy, they gawk at others who enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice and labor. In this particular situation, I am referring to people who need to struggle in order to survive, not those who were born with silver spoon in their mouth, and who could live more than comfortably even without lifting a finger…they are not concerned in this dissertation.

Some people thought that they can forever be strutting around with a pretty face and physically fit body. They thought that they can invest those physical attributes in gaining friends, even if they will show abhorrent attitude. They forgot that in time, as leaves and flowers wilt, so do the face that gets crinkled with furrows and the body that gets to shrink become humped. Gluta treatments may help but only for as long the physical make up of a person can take them. Meanwhile, the face and some parts of the body have limited elasticity for stretching, and the Viagra can be of help only up to a certain level of ageing. 

Finally, the tenacity of man is such that he practically makes use of science to virtually “perpetuate” life with the use of cloning. From a minute piece of man’s body, another of his kind is given life in a laboratory, and so are plants.  But, even if man and other creatures may live for thousands of years, the big question is, will Earth do?...considering the rate man is practically doing some kind of self-destruction due to pride, selfishness and wickedness?

As Time Moves On

       …so Does Life

By Apolinario Villalobos

Life is a never ending cycle

that moves with time

there is no turning back

not even retracing of steps

to where we have been;

whatever time has been wasted

cannot be regained

but there is always the chance

to make amends

for mistakes committed

…as lessons learned.

We grow with time 

we can’t be forever young

we have a purpose in life

and this we should fulfill  

hence, live  a sensible life

it should be -

replete with gladness and contentment

not voraciousness for material things

for at the end of our day

such a load is just too heavy

as we embark on our final journey.

.

Harmonizing Life with Time

…by virtue of Discipline

By Apolinario Villalobos

We cannot control time, much more, go against its ticking hands. But we can live in harmony with it by virtue of discipline. We cannot turn back the hands of time, as the song says, so we have to synchronize our life with it for our own advantage.

Synchronizing with time and the degree that calls for it differs according to culture and environment. In Spain, siesta time after lunch till early afternoon is a very part of its people’s culture. Their “nighttime” is also long, lasting till the wee hours of the morning. Meanwhile, in other countries, the people are not conscious of time.

In a well- disciplined country like Japan, time is treated with respect. And, so is in the United States, where time is followed to the last second, in which at the strike of five, everything is dropped. In European countries, the same treatment of time is observed – with strictness, hinged on discipline.

The standard work period is eight hours. But to date, because of the many factors that affect the day to day lives of the people, especially, traffic, “broken time” is applied by some companies, for as long as the eight-hour period is completed. Adjustment is made on the work period of employees in consideration of the traffic and distance that needs to be covered by commuting from their home.

On the other hand, regardless of whether we are in a workplace, at home or just anywhere, time is very much part of our activity…our life. Practically, since the first day that life is developed in the womb of the mother, time element is already involved, such as the number of days until the fetus finally breaths the fresh air as it comes out into the world. And, the development of the growing child is reckoned by phases of time– physically, mentally, and emotionally.

In wrapping up, the besting thing to do, if we do not want to be hassled then, is by being always ahead of time. Whatever time is “earned” can always be used for some other things that we need to make our life comfortable. We should, however, remember always, that living in harmony with time should be tempered with discipline so that we can use it to live a comfortable life.

The Precious Silence

…that we squandered

By Apolinario Villalobos

It is only in silence that we can hear

the unspoken ache in the heart of others as they suffer,

with closed eyes we could see the torment

brought to them by thirst and hunger.

It is only in silence that we can hear

the voice of God as He answers our heartfelt  pleading,

with closed eyes we could feel His mercy

touching our heart, our whole being.

It is only in silence that we can hear

the sweet music that Mother Nature has been humming,

sweetness that we disregarded, neglected

appreciated only now that She’s dying.

It is only in silence that we can hear

the throbbing love, our heart harbors with utmost care,

that should be nurtured, shared unselfishly

not stifled, choked and left to flounder.

The precious silence, we squandered

a mistake, regretted at the last hour

as we grapple hard with time

and, eyes wide with anguish

as we all wallow in miseries!

Getting Ahead of Time

By Apolinario Villalobos

People who are always late in reporting to work or for their appointments, make me wonder. When I still had a regular job,  it has puzzled me a lot of time why I could make it to my job site on time despite my living a good fourteen kilometers from it and others who live nearby could not. Just like the management of other offices, ours also got worried because of rampant tardiness among employees.

Our management, to remedy the situation, has asked all department heads to advance their wall clocks by ten minutes, except for the bundy clock (used for timecards) which must be on time always. The instruction was filtered down the line and as expected, caused quite a stir among the employees.

Although, I was surprised by the request of the management, I was even more surprised by the unpleasant remarks heard from the ranks. What these complaining colleagues did not understand was the objective of the whole exercise. In the first place, the bundy clocks still ticked the standard time so the work schedules were not affected. What was affected was the ATTITUDE towards time.

It is not necessary for one to finish post-graduate studies to understand the adage that we cannot move back the hands of time. Time wasted is really time wasted in any language.

People run after time catching rides to their offices and other destinations. In Manila, everybody blames the traffic for not getting to work on time. What is funny is that we refuse to recognize the solution, which is just waking up early and taking the ride ahead of time.

In the offices, comfort rooms are crammed with employees at exactly one o’clock to wash up. Very few ever think of washing up several minutes before, so that they can begin working before, or at least exactly by one o’clock.

At the airport, passengers clog check-in areas when it is almost closing time. This causes long queue and sometimes, lost flight for some due to the on-time closure of check-in counters. The same scenario can be seen in piers and bus terminals.

My suggestions are:

-during workdays, there should be limitation in the time spent for socializing after office hours so that employees can have enough time for their travel home and catch up with enough sleep;

-in the morning, one should try to be at his/her desk minutes before the official start of office to review the previous day’s accomplishments and pending matters, aside from  other things to do before doing those that come for the day;

-have a grand time in doing weekend bonding activities with friends or families  on a Friday night or whole day of Saturday, so that Sunday can be spent for rest;

-to beat the pestering traffic jam, be on the road at least two hours before appointment time, never mind spending time a in coffee shop near the meeting place, if you arrived earlier than expected.

Most people tend to oversleep on their days off on the pretext that they need to rest. I tried this, but it just gave me a headache! My suggestion on weekends is for one to wake up while the sun is still peeping from the horizon, have a cup of coffee and contemplate on things to be done for the day, then, take a brisk walk or jog. The midday, can be spent for a nap.

What is sad, is that we only feel the ill effects of our bad attitude towards time when we become a victim, such as missing our flight, opportunity for a bus or taxi ride, resulting to lost revenue or job opportunities.  If we will not change, we will never be able to educate our children, too, and they will surely carry this habit with them when they will have their own family. There is a need to break the vicious cycle.

In looking for jobs, the hiring companies are looking for those who respect time. There is a story about an average college graduate who bet his co-graduate but a summa cum laude (they both came from the same school), to a much coveted job. On the appointed day, the interviewer of the hiring company who had the habit of going to the office early found the average graduate waiting outside the yet closed door of the office as early at 7 AM! The interviewer was impressed and lost no time in interviewing the “early bird”. After the interview, the applicant was told to report to work the following day. The average graduate applicant learned later that his summa cum laude co-graduate arrived for the interview, at past nine.

Finally, being on time is alright, but getting ahead of time is much better. Using the principle of space, I could say that more time gives us the opportunity to do more things. The best thing to do then is, get ahead of time... as lost ticks of its hands cannot be recovered. We must exert our best effort to “earn” time that can be used for other better things to do.

Again, lost time cannot be recovered, but we can “earn” time by getting ahead of it.