Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Give me a little time



There is a hike I take frequently up a boulder-riddled hill within the city. It's a three or four mile walk with lovely views, especially at sunset.

One of the cool things is it often leads to ideas for my fiction. I keep a pen and little notebook in my pocket for those thoughts when they come out of nowhere. It reminds me of a meteor streaking so hot and sudden in the sky that you gasp. And if I don't write those ideas down, they can fade like those falling stars.

Hiking today, however, I found inspiration for this blog. Two women in front of me were chatting, and I overheard, "I get so bored, I've got to kill some time."

All I could think is if you have time you don't want, GIVE IT TO ME. Sorry for the shout, but time is the most precious thing any of us have. There is never enough to do all I want to, and I fear running out of it. Part of this, no doubt, is that I am a cancer survivor and that tends to make you greedy to hang on to every minute. Part of this is that I am a writer and there are so many stories I'd like to have time to tell.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate 'down' time when we visit with friends, see a summer movie or just stare at a sky filled with stars, but that is not the same as killing time. I say, savor it, embrace it, make it count. I'd love to hear your reaction.

12 comments:

Tess said...

Seriously? A woman said that? I can't even imagine - that's insane! She must not have children, that's for certain :D

PJ Hoover said...

OMG, I hear the same thing and wonder who has the time to get bored!!!!! I can occupy my precious time with innumerable things!

Bish Denham said...

I feel sorry for that woman. I for one don't know what it is to be bored. Frustrated, yes, because there were things I wanted to get done and for what ever reason couldn't get done. But bored? There's so much to do, to see, to hear, to feel, to taste. So many books to read. So much to be thankful for. I have never understood how anyone could possibly be bored. I guess they haven't taken the TIME to notice the world, the people around them, to notice themselves.

Corey Schwartz said...

Well, I can't say that I am never bored. I am bored when I am playing Candy Land for the seventh time in a row. But I do see your point :)

And what a lovely place to hike.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Tess, PJ, Bish, Corey: Thanks for the reactions. I can't say I'm never bored, either. We all get stuck occasionally in auto repair shops or playing Candy Land 7X in a row :-D
And it's not that I don't get boredom or depression (believe me, I do). It's the concept of 'killing' time that rubs me wrong. Perhaps, it's semantics, and I object to referring to destruction of the one gift we are all born with. Perhaps, it's anger with myself for having let any time slip aimlessly through my fingers.
Here, I'll leave off with a line from Paul Simon: "I'm empty and aching and I don't know why. Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike..."

Tess said...

oooo, I heart Paul Simon :D

Stephanie, PQW said...

I get bored, but it's never because I have nothing to do. It's that I don't enjoy what I'm doing or don't feel challenged by it. I can't believe someone has too much time on their hands. I'm with you, they should give me some of it.

Donna said...

I think that creativity is the antidote for anyone bored with life. I mean for people seriously bored, like the woman Tricia J overheard on her walk. An overdose Candyland or a dull party may bring on impatience, but maybe that's because we'd rather be writing or cooking or gardening.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Stephanie, Donna: Thanks for chiming in. It's really about making life interesting, looking for the new, making something out of an idea, discovery and curiosity. That's why I love all the people I meet through writing. You all rock!

Bish Denham said...

Tricia, hope you don't mind, but I've tagged you with a fun tag. Check it out.

http://bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/sinfully-tagged.html

eggntoast said...

Places I've literally wanted to Kill Time:

1. Doctor's office waiting room, hour two.
2. Airport holding room, Casablanca, hour four.
3. 747, on tarmac in brutal July heat, Texas, hour three.

The greatest novel in the world couldn't make those hours enjoyable. When not trapped in a hideous environment without option for escape, I'm totally with you, though. I never seem to run out of ways to fill my time. I'm not sure I even know what that kind of boredom feels like.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

eeeek! four hours in an airport holding room, three on the tarmac--oh yes, I'd like to kill that time, stomp it, bury it. I'm laughing at your wry humor and gritting my teeth at the same time!