Time, the Great Master

This timepiece had been with me, on my journey, for almost my entire adult life. Each tick and shift of its hands was a little chink by time in the armour of my existence. It was a constant reminder of both how fortunate we were and how finite it all was. We were, literally, never off the clock.

The watch in question had been handed down to me. Time, whether preceding us, carrying us in its arms, or the vast ocean of it that would come afterwards, was magnificent. Having such a beautiful tool to tell me how much time had passed and how much was left each day was a little unnoticed wealth to most people, I reckoned. My father had worn it on his wrist before I was born, and he had worked surrounded by watches, clocks, almost endless time, for his entire working life – and beyond, into his retirement during which he had worked for another ten years. Those years were also months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. All just a number. All defined by time, a watch, a clock, something measuring our every moment, every movement. Was it now catching up with us all? Was that just how ageing would feel to everyone?

Sometimes it adorned my wrist, perhaps the finest piece I had ever worn; sometimes it remained in a draw, or on the bedside table or somewhere else nearby. At other times, I hid it away, allowing its automatic movement a rest, to cease ticking and to recover.

This timepiece had seen its share of life across two generations of a family, it had partially defined two men’s travel through their twenties and more.

Time, waiting for no man or woman, ever the enigma, sweeping us all up. The best timepieces made it seem sharp, vital, inevitable. Not something to attempt to escape but to embrace. Time ran us out the door, but time had shepherded us in in the first place. The glass was half full, surely. Time, as ever I thought these days, was the ultimate privilege.

Time comes and time goes in a never-ending dance. How do you feel about it? Do you always tell people you are ‘busy’? That’s just life and the weight of time on your shoulders. Make every second count, and be kind, humble, and passionate. Time knows. Time will tell all.?

?

#timepiece #watches #watchmaker #watchmaking #timeisprecious #timeisnow