Circles of Time

Monday, 28 February 2000
"Do you have any off days left?" It seems such a normal question, but it isn't, certainly not for me being self employed. That question implies that the working is normal and days off are an exception. It is not true. There are lots of people who never work to get paid. Babies don't work, and neither do retirees. Only a part of the age group in between works, and just a part of their time. Circles of time
  • not every week of the year, call it a holiday.
  • not every day of the week, call it weekend.
  • not every hour of the day, call it spare time.
Time is collection of circles, one within the other, like a stone in a pool of water at the island in the centre of Lake Toba (www.lonelyplanet.com/...) at the island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. This nested structure fascinates me.

Work part of your life, but within work there are weeks with and without work, within working weeks working days and off days, within a working day work hours and off hours. Escape the busy workday for a moment, and yes, here is the small pool of off time within your work hour. Quite annoying if somebody throws a stone into that pool of free time. It could even wake you up.

Live to work of Work to live, that is the question. I myself prefer the second option. Works is a means to survive in a time when there are no longer enough trees around to pick fruit from. So I consider my time at the various offices as lost private time, a nasty side effect of overpopulation.

So don't ask me: "Do you have off days left?" but: "How long do you have yet to work?" My answer will depend on the circle of time that has your focus.

Till next week!
Nut