Oubliez le Temps
When I was a young woman, I saw a striking magazine ad for luxury European watches. It discreetly depicted a man and a woman embracing, with golden watches on their bare arms. The headline said “Oubliez le temps”; (Forget the time). The meaning was obvious. This idea has endured, reminding me to be conscious of the passing of time, aware of opportunities to forget the clock.
“I dream of what life may have been like before clocks, when people lived free from the slave master of time.”
A similar magazine ad
In the 50 long years since I saw that memorable ad, there have been many occasions when I joyfully forgot the time: That first slow dance at the junior prom, my beau holding me close, swaying to the music. Holding my sons in my arms for the first time, filled with delight. Watching the sun set over the Blue Ridge mountains in the early summertime, the air fragrant with the blooming world around me. Life has been marked by many precious hours when I had the luxury of ignoring the clock…forgetting the time.
Even so, for most of my days the clock has been a tyrant, the slave master of time. In school, there were clocks everywhere: in the front of every classroom, on every hallway, in the gym. Time was punctuated by bells ringing or buzzers barking to signal the beginning or end of the day (Run! Don’t be tardy!). The round-faced tyrants and their alarms guarded the doors our prison and kept our anxiety levels high.
Enslavement carries over to adulthood. The tyrant’s hold is the panic of being late for work, getting stuck in traffic or being late for an appointment. There is a rush of adrenaline and anxiety when the clock is your master.
I dream of what life may have been like before clocks, when people lived free from the slave master of time and its threat of punishment.
To be honest with you, my work weeks are even now tyrannized by the clock. I sincerely aspire to break free from time’s captivity and…
“Oubliez le Temps”
