The Clash of the Time Zones

A lot of people who are trying to live more sustainably are starting to complain about the crazy-making clash between industrial/cyber time and sustainable, nature-paced time.

Let's say, for example, that you are one of the millions of Americans who have recently taken up the delightful but time-demanding process of growing some of your own food. Gardening is wonderful eco-therapy and slows you down to nature's pace. You hear the birds sing, watch the insects on their ancient rounds. Ahhh.

But then you have to crank up again on Monday morning and re-enter the jet stream of modern business culture. This time zone is 24/7 and more frantic all the time as economic insecurity ratchets up the stakes and we work harder and harder just to keep up with bills, even as we're trying to simplify, live more frugally and pace ourselves. Even when we're at home, we spend too much time on our computers speeding along at cyberpace and too little time outdoors.

Soon the little squash or pea seedlings we planted last weekend that are operating on Mother Nature's schedule pop up and demand your daily attention, just like newborns everywhere and in every era. But you have to leave home early (no time to water now), try to get in some frantic exercise time at the gym (no time for a leisurely hike), rush to work and stay late at the office, under a crunch probably caused by fewer employees doing less work. It's dark when you get home so ... droopy seedlings or even crispy critters.

As more of us try to "drop out" from unsustainable society, the clash between nature-based lifestyle patterns and the demands of modern living/earning can become acute. Most of us start out 100 percent in the old culture and inch our way into a different and healthier way of living. But there's no denying that somewhere in the middle of this process we'll probably hit a bad case of Clash of the Time Zones!

So what does your schedule look like? How much time do you spend indoors vs. outdoors? In front of a screen vs. face to face with people, animals, plants and nature? In a car vs. outside? Rushed vs. peaceful? How do you juggle the wild ride between cybertime and nature's time?

Comments

[ForTheFuture]

I work at a remote location in the mountains behind Santa Barbara. Every day, as I drive over the mountain, I experience a change in "time zone." Once out of the human world of streets and buildings, it becomes obvious that time is different out here. It's taken millions of years to shape this landscape, and to populate it with the flora and fauna that are at home here. That geologic pace starts to seep into everyday consciousness, the further I go from "civilizat­ion." By the time I've arrived where I"m going, my perception of time has changed. I feel less urgency, less pressure, less distraction. Time has become experience, rather than an abstraction in which isolated events are embedded. I agree with Ms. Buzzell that our conception of time will shape our lives as we adapt to the changes ahead.

Richard Anderson
ForTheFuture

[lff]

How fast and/or stressful your pace of life is depends more on where you live than anything else. Over the last 40 years I have lived in 7 different countries and three states in the U.S. If you want a different pace or style of life you can find one that suits you. Its a big world.

lff