After yet another exhausting day, filled with multiple and different activities, I decided to stop for a moment.
I thought about practicing a little "nothingism," setting aside my recurrent "everythingism," even if just for a brief moment. But nothingness never pleased me, never sufficed.
I decided, then, to watch time pass.
To my complete surprise, it stopped and decided to talk with me.
Indeed, time stopped, for everything else became motionless, except for a soft and pleasant breeze that accompanied that temporal lapse.
I even pinched myself to know if I was awake. It hurt!
Time laughed and asked: – Has it passed yet?
I replied that there hadn't been time yet.
Smiling, it answered: – Then, take some of me! – and the pain passed.
It went on, questioning me about how I was using it, as if it didn't know.
I described my insane routine, the sleepless nights striving to solve work problems, rushed meals, demands, duties…
– You only use me for that? – it interrupted and continued – Only today, for the first time, you saw me pass instead of just letting me go! You decided to give time to me, so I decided to stop time for you to reflect on the time that has passed, your present time, and how you intend to use me in the future, without wasting me.
Time was right!
For so long I had been so absorbed in living in function of the world, that time passed without my noticing, without sense or direction. I only noticed it as weather, especially when it limited my tasks, or when I didn't have time to do what I would like, for what was pleasurable I understood as the loss of precious time.
– Ah, am I precious to you? – It read my mind!
– You need to learn to use me better! Give time to time, to have time of your own, a personal relationship with me.
That conversation seemed like a waste of time, but I remembered that time was stopped.
I thought about the Theory of Relativity. Would I have memory of that moment?
Time observed me visually and telepathically, understanding the paradox I was experiencing.
– I have long since lost count of how long I have been here, eternal as I am. But you are ephemeral! You need to enjoy me more with things that are not just obligations and routines.
I, who had come to think I had all the time in the world, went back in the time of memory and found things I should have enjoyed or done, but postponed, thinking it was not the ideal moment. It was not lost time, but the delayed time of the missed opportunity.
They say time doesn't stop, but it stopped for me!
Not only did it stop, it talked with me!
I cannot tell how long that took, especially because time was stopped.
Time smiled at me and said: – Do not lament not having enjoyed me more. Sometimes it takes time for people to learn how to balance me, to understand that I am always here, at any time. I exist for this!
That warning was a comfort, a deliverance from the patterns I was following.
Time noticed this and felt that it had not wasted itself in giving me attention.
``` ```htmlHe smiled and things slowly began to resume their course. It was time for him to pass through again.
He said goodbye, but before resuming his endless course, he looked at me and urged: - Carpe diem! Omni diem!
```
