Have You Wound Your Clock Lately? - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Have You Wound Your Clock Lately? - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

I wound our clock this morning. It is a good old reliable gem of deep wood with a classic curvy shape porting a happy face and hugging a central spot on a chest in the family room. I wound both movements, the timepiece and its distinct reminder, the chimes.

I stepped back, listened to the rhythm of those chimes and thought, ”My life has been so much about time; set the alarm, look at my watch, get to the office, be efficient, don’t miss a meeting or a game or a dinner reservation.” Nowadays, I realize how much my life was structured about time, appreciating how much of an influence it had in balancing the many commitments I made, adding to my productivity and satisfaction. And, of course, to my anxiety.

Nowadays, without the overarching necessity of living by a schedule, I can reflect a little about time. I can pause. I am off the racetrack. I can tend to the clock and not be enslaved by it. I have time to think about it all.

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Don’t misunderstand me. Being a longtime neurotic, I still like to live in some sort of order, and time is still decisive in that journey. So what. Everything should have some order anyway. The world can use order, though I don’t think it starts with winding a clock (that thought for another day).

I don’t let this lovely little gem wind down to zero. I want to hear the metronome of time and the echoing of bells in the background, but that’s where I want them, more in the background. I choose more to live in the moment, grab that moment, not let it slip away, not let it pass too quickly. I have more winding to do. “And miles to go before I sleep,” writes Frost.

I realize more than ever how much time is tied to the aging process as I am experiencing the changes that come with it . . . physical, intellectual, and certainly emotional (vis a vis our recent graduations). But rather than live by the clock, I am understanding the challenges associated with winding it and the symbolism of keeping that little clock on that piece of furniture ticking and ordering my life maybe because I think that regular winding contributes to longevity.

Maybe I am slowing time by winding that clock and thus keeping the time going. Maybe I am making the future, much like the past, rumble slowly in its passage. Maybe because with winding, you appreciate those moments of time’s passage, and you reflect. And you wonder.

Thus I wind that gem realizing that I don’t have to live by the clock as much these days. Rather, I live in the moment.

So wind your clocks and synch the chimes. Move to another hour and another and another. Slowly, ever so slowly, gently order your lives with the clock but do not be enslaved by it.

Should we not rewind our clocks every day?