Rhythm of Life

Recently I asked some youths to give up their watches while we were in the Philippines. I expected some of them to protest silently in their hearts. To my surprise, even the quiet ones spoke out loudly as if they had heard a most repelling thing and they just had to react. "What? Give up my watch? never!" As if I had asked them to surrender their last breath of air.

Why the reaction? There were 2 reasons. The 1st reason was the watch was of sentimental value... someone had given it to them or they have been using it since the last millenium and have since grown so attached to this made-in-japan thing that it would be weird not to have it on the hand.

The 2nd reason was "I need to know the time".. If you observe a young person long enough that fella is probably looking at his time (watch or hp) every 15 minutes.

The irony was: after much discussion the youths agreed that it was not important for them to have their watches and they did not need their watches but they just could not take it off. If it's not important or you don't need it, why can't you take it off?

I felt I was looking at myself as a teenager struggling with time and with my possessions. A youth is as poor as a church mouse. I can say that from experience. What a youth has to call his/her own is really almost nothing. That almost nothing is probably the watch they have on. Some youths earned their watch. Perhaps from good results or behaviour. Some, perhaps, cos they learnt to be on time! :) But for whatever the reason, many young people are given watches. Watches are often gifts. I notice adults give watches to young people as a way of telling them, "You're old enough to tell time and to keep time."

And that's what young people do.. and boy.. do they keep time.. at least for Singaporean youths. Our young people are always rushed and hurried, especially rushed and hurried to grow up. Many of them have a fully-packed program for the holidays. Many do not have programs they themselves had come up with or chosen. Many were put on leadership courses, work attachments, overseas trips, training, extra academic lessons. Even holiday trips were planned for them. They have so many plans and activities pre-programmed. There were a few without any plans, just happy-go-lucky but these youths did not seem to fit in with the others. I also suspect some just gave the impression that they have a lot on for the holidays just to be in sync with their friends.

In all our rushing and speeding through life, it's no wonder the young people find sunrise and sunset to be unfamiliar events. Strange that roosters crow and cows can run freely in open land. The full moon seems to be an oddity in the dark sky. and the stars.. oh never see stars as bright as these. Oohh... smell the air just before rain drops fall pitter patter. Waiting for water to boil, just waiting for water to boil. raining, raining, nothing to do cos it's raining. never had nothing to do. children chattering. Don't understand what they're saying. Can't answer, can't understand. Never felt isolated, never felt un-understood. What to say? just smile. never smiled for the sake of smiling ... nothing to do but smile. Rain stops, no more pitter patter, no more chatter. Across the valley, a giant rainbow appears. The valley seems to smile, the rainbow seems to be listening.

Time has passed. Time, not in seconds or minutes or if.else.then. But time in the rooster's crow, in the sunrise, in the air, the pitter patter, the chatter, the smile, the listening rainbow, the smiling valley, the boiling water, the quiet sunset. Time, not by Seiko nor Casio nor Raymond Weil, rather time by the rhythm of life.