Eight weeks ago this minute, I was just walking up to my front door after driving home from the Minneapolis area.
The trip had taken just under 4 hours, but it really seemed like only half that long… strange.
Interestingly, Google Maps told me it would take 4 hours and 52 minutes so I was likely going just a little faster than I should have been!
Then again, I don’t necessarily put my faith in Google and I also think that if I go just the right speed, my car becomes invisible… sweet!
But here’s the really weird part – as I think about the conversations I had while I was there… the interactions with others… yes, even the dinner we ate just before I headed for home that evening… it hardly seems like a few weeks have passed, no less several months.
Hmm…
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You’ll recall my theory from Part 1 about time actually being perceived as speeding up as we get older. Now, I’m no physicist (and neither was my grandma), but it seemed to make sense to me at the time.
A friend of mine then suggested another cause could be at work. Maybe, just maybe, he said… we are surrounded by so much technology… so many stimuli… such a multitude of sensory activity competing for our attention… that we simply lose track of time.
Sounds reasonable, I thought.
After all, I was listening to music… and I was on and off the phone more than a few times… and I did pull out my mp3 and record my thoughts for an upcoming presentation that I was to deliver. Oh, and there was also traffic and there were deer and raccoons and… and… and I was excited to sleep in my own bed, and…
You get the picture.
Gee… was I really so distracted that time just flew by? And if so, have I really been THAT distracted for the LAST EIGHT WEEKS?
I hope not.
So to prove it, I pretty much went off the grid for about five days last week and weekend. That’s right. With the exception of a handful of texts, almost completely away from my cell. And no laptop… no Internet or e-mail… no social networks… no television, radio, sports, news… nothing.
Nothing… and guess what?
Those five days seemed like about thirty-six hours, but at least this time, I think I know why. The answer… next time.
I look forward to speaking with you soon.
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