Time Perception
01/07/22 10:56
Today I began my day with lightening a fire.
Here in the forest, I rely on a wood stove for heat and cooking.
What have began as a romantic idea, ended up turning many aspects of my life upside down.
Specially, time perception.
I grew up, just like most of us, with what the ancient Greek called chronos or clock time.
This is a linear notion of time in which our physical and mental rhythms are marked by minutes and hours registered on the clock.
Because it’s warm during summer, I prefer to make fire once in the early morning.
Fire making takes time and work. Walking outside for chopping and collecting wood. Cleaning ashes. Starting the fire. Waiting till the stove is hot enough for cooking. Feeding the fire.
It would be a waste, if I would only make breakfast. Heat is available so this event is an opportunity for much more. I warm water and store it for drinking and washing. I prepare the food for later meals. And sometimes, bake bread.
Kairos is another sort of time. Essentially nonlinear, time is created by opportunity and events - instead of minutes and hours.
The event of fire, is very significant in my daily organisation. Therefore it occupies a great deal of kairos. But in chronos gains another meaning: lot’s of time is consumed at the beginning of the day, only with house holding.
Back in the city, by the switch of a button, the stove is hot. Coffee is ready. Breakfast it’s done.
Commodities haste the pace of life. Because in a society in which time is tied to money, every moment counts. Time cannot be wasted.
The fire I make everyday in my forest home, contrasts with the pressing modern schedules and speed.
It may not be very valuable within a linear time perspective. But beyond any doubt, poses great gifts: body movement, closeness to nature, contemplation, a slower rhythm and most of all, a sense of abundant time.
Here in the forest, I rely on a wood stove for heat and cooking.
What have began as a romantic idea, ended up turning many aspects of my life upside down.
Specially, time perception.
I grew up, just like most of us, with what the ancient Greek called chronos or clock time.
This is a linear notion of time in which our physical and mental rhythms are marked by minutes and hours registered on the clock.
Because it’s warm during summer, I prefer to make fire once in the early morning.
Fire making takes time and work. Walking outside for chopping and collecting wood. Cleaning ashes. Starting the fire. Waiting till the stove is hot enough for cooking. Feeding the fire.
It would be a waste, if I would only make breakfast. Heat is available so this event is an opportunity for much more. I warm water and store it for drinking and washing. I prepare the food for later meals. And sometimes, bake bread.
Kairos is another sort of time. Essentially nonlinear, time is created by opportunity and events - instead of minutes and hours.
The event of fire, is very significant in my daily organisation. Therefore it occupies a great deal of kairos. But in chronos gains another meaning: lot’s of time is consumed at the beginning of the day, only with house holding.
Back in the city, by the switch of a button, the stove is hot. Coffee is ready. Breakfast it’s done.
Commodities haste the pace of life. Because in a society in which time is tied to money, every moment counts. Time cannot be wasted.
The fire I make everyday in my forest home, contrasts with the pressing modern schedules and speed.
It may not be very valuable within a linear time perspective. But beyond any doubt, poses great gifts: body movement, closeness to nature, contemplation, a slower rhythm and most of all, a sense of abundant time.