How Losing my Watch Caused me to Reevaluate the Concept of Time

Treasuring memories of laughing children, sunsets, and life.

I really wish I had spent more time appreciating it when it was happening instead of worrying about when it would all end.

Rebecca — This is Us

This morning I lost my watch, and it surprised me how often I kept looking down at my bare wrist — checking the fleeting time.

Admittingly, I felt lost without my knockoff SmartWatch to guide me through my busy days.

This recognition conjured a reflection on the concept of time, and the stark realization that you don’t need a watch or a clock for the minutes to tick, tick, tick away.

Watch or not, those minutes, those moments disappear like hourglass sand.

Yet so often, we become lost in the rituals of our days: The endless appointments, commutes, schedules, and commitments….

It’s easy to become bound to the clock without recognizing how bound we’ve become.

I think these thoughts as I stand on the ocean’s edge, my bare feet sinking steadily in the damp sand.

I’m pausing and watching my two beautifully energetic sons immerse themselves in the tides of the sea.

The sun sets on the horizon, and pink, blue, orange, and purple streaks appear before us like a Van Gogh painting of swirls.

And just then, my oldest son kneels into the water while the waves continue to crash in.

He gazes ahead at the waves and sky while clasping his hands together — reminiscent of a prayer or a Namaste yoga pose.

Perhaps a combination of both.

And I think to myself, what an incredible, spiritual moment to witness — a moment when I don’t need any clock at all.