Ever Less Time

Oldsters will verify that in recent decades the pace of living has speeded up. One journalist, Dr Sybille Fritsch, pointed out that during the past 200 years, the workweek has dropped from 80 to 38 hours, "yet this has not put a stop to our complaining." She clarified: "No time; time is money; grasping for time like gasping for breath; a life of hurry-scurry."

New inventions have opened up opportunities and possibilities never even dreamed of by earlier generations. But the greater the possibility of engaging in a multitude of activities, the greater the frustration at having too little time to do so. Nowadays, in many parts of the world, people live by the clock, rushing from deadline to the next. Dad must leave for work at 7:00 a.m., Mother must get the children to school by 8:30 a.m., and all of us must get ready for an important meeting at 7:30 p.m. In the haste of chasing one deadline after another, there is scarcely time left fro any relaxation. And we complain about the daily grind, about the rat race.

Next time: We Are Not Alone In Having Little Time

Watchtower, 1999