I wear a watch now. I am usually anti-time-knowing. Too much of my energy is spent on feeling like I'm behind that I hate having a constant reminder that I'm working against the clock. Due to a recent medical condition, I now have to wear one to remind me to walk around every hour to prevent blood clotting in my legs. This seems like it would be a nuisance, but I'm grateful that it makes me have to take a break, a breather, every hour instead of becoming absolutely absorbed in my computer. I am now becoming more and more aware of how much of my life is spent staring at a screen a foot and a half from my face--my universe now appears to stop less that two feet from my gaze. What a tragedy that this is the seemingly forced path of humanity in this current era. At the risk of sounding like the pretentious American saying, "Well, in so-and-so place, they...", but I'm going to proceed anyway. I was recently listening to a podcast of one of my favorite travelers, Rick Steves, conversing with my favorite travel writer, Frances Mayes. They got on the subject of how Italians, and many other European nations don't treat time with the same mindset/attitude that we do State-side. Mayes was sharing about how in all of her time in Italy she has never had the sense that the Italians fight time the way we do. They simply "pass" time and don't worry about it. Whereas I always feel behind, like the clock is beating me down, and I'll never be able to match it. This notion is even apparent in our language. We use economic terms to indicate how we use time: we spend time, waste time, invest time. Instead of just passing time, heedless of it's ticking hands. I'd like to do that--take time, guiltlessly.