Time Is The Root Of All Evil

Weird title, isn't it? But during this holiday season, I wonder if people aren't getting a little crazy about their time. The newscasters on TV report how people have less money to spend, and that causes stress during the holidays. I think it is more the lack of time than the lack of money that is driving people crazy.

Most people have enough money to find presents for their relatives and friends. Yes, perhaps they would like more money to buy more elaborate gifts, but it is the compression of so many tasks into so little time that is causing the most grief. I don't know about your area, but people are driving very fast around my city. The speed limit seems to be a law that is not even used as a guidline. In fact, the police report through the newscasters that their photo camera's are targeted to the speed limit plus 11 mph. So most people drive 5 -10 mph over the limit. Those in a "hurry" don't even seem to recognize any speed limit.

Perhaps time is money, as they say. Apparently, time is to be filled with events. And the more events people can cram into their available time, the better off they think they are. People nowadays have so many responsibilities: work to earn an income, parenting to raise the children, relaxation pastimes to clear the mind, exercise to keep healthy and live longer, civic projects because we want to feel a part of the community, club memberships to be with other specific groups of people like us; and the list goes on ---- endlessly for some people. No wonder we feel like the most precious commodity we don't have enough of is time. Money we can earn. But time is evasive.

So perhaps we have unknowingly drifted to much toward the concept that "Time is the Root of All Evil". We would do well to relearn our childhood capability to just sit and dream. Let our minds wander. Just "be" with friends doing unstructured things. Oh, if we could only calm down, and be a little more peaceful. Then the world would be right again. I know it would be for me.

Transition Time

I like to call this time of the year in Phoenix transition time. I have my own definition for that. In the summer months they (the local weather forecasters) define the start of the Monsoon season as the time when we have over 5 days in a row with the dew point at 55 degrees or over. Generally it is so arid out here that the humidity stays low with a low dew point. But as the summer months roll by the dew point rises as the humidity increases until we have 5 days over 55 degrees dew point. Then the Monsoon season "officially" starts. And then later we have rain. Usually in mid July through August, with a tad more in September. Then things dry up again as the seasonal flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico stops its summer flow up to Arizona.

I have just reached Transition Time in my household. I like to define that as 5 consecutive days where my wife does not run the air conditioner at some point during the day. And as of today, we have not had the air conditioner on for 5 days. That means it is cool enough to rely only on the heat cycle of our heat pumps. No more air; winter has officially started in my household. Time to put up the Christmas lights. I need to do that tomorrow. See you around the block.