Pockets and Their Watches

This week I came to a realization that I would like to share. It’s a simple one, so simple, in fact, that it has taken me more years to figure out than I care to admit. It’s not that I am a slow learner. Rather, I am a “fast knower,” meaning that sometimes I get so far ahead of myself that I end up in the rear. Well, I used to be like that, but things have changed.

What’s changed? I have finally slowed down enough to recognize the two fundamental forces in human existence that determine happiness. I say human existence, because I don’t think they exist elsewhere. Or, if they do, they must be in such a variant form as to be irrelevant to homo sapiens. That’s important, because, you know, we are the measure of all things, the top banana. At least for now.

I always suspected these forces existed, from my youth when I ripped up a five-dollar bill and threw it into the garbage during a wild argument with my father, to the present. It’s not that I was too proud to admit that my father was right. I actually thought he was wrong about the importance of money, because money was, in my enlightened mind, irrelevant.

Even worse, I thought I knew better, because I had a college degree. And they constantly tell you how smart you are all through college in subtle and not so subtle ways. Of course, my parents paid for that degree, but I couldn’t acknowledge that, since it involved my coming down from the high jackass I rode into town on and admitting that I wasn’t any better than the guy who delivered our mail. In fact, he was probably in better shape than me from all that walking. But when you’re young, thin, and quick-witted, people will let you get away with a plethora of punk ass.

Good, God, what’s he going on about now? you ask. And why is he taking so long to get to the point? The post is half over. All right, the two fundamental forces in life I have in mind are time and money. There, I said it.

Time and money affect our lives the way the fundamental forces of nature shape our physical world. They determine the size, spin, and speed of existence no matter which economic, political, or social system a society is based on. I include free market capitalism, state capitalism, socialism, communism, bartering, or any other cooperative alternative to those systems. Think of everything from the “Always Be Closing” Ferengi on Star Trek to the always petulant Richard Wolff on social media.

In your experience, you may know people who always complain about not having enough of either. Or they may be in debt with one but in spades with the other. You also may have heard self-proclaimed “influencers” go on and on about how to remedy a lack of do-re-me. Often, such remedy involves selling on Amazon, to which I can only say, don’t waste your time.

Before you accuse me of pointing out the obvious, hear me out. Ever since my youth when I ripped up that bill, I have been warned that, “somebody’s always got their hand in your pocket.” I used to think that was just old-world cynicism that had no place in modern society. However, after a lifetime of collecting data points to support that view, so to speak, I have to agree. Maybe not everybody does that, but they certainly think about it and are tempted to act on the temptation.

What I have learned since retiring is that the greater danger lies in somebody reaching into your pocket not for your money but your pocket watch. I mean your time. Many of those still working must have this image of retired people sitting around, waiting for the phone to ring. Not sure if phones still ring the way they used to, but you get the idea. Time is valuable, especially when there’s less of it and you have to make hard choices about where and to whom it goes.

Sure, none of this is news. But the earlier in life people recognize these forces, the better. They won’t be ripping up anything they’ll regret later on. And, like Kant’s practical reason, think of this as practical living. It’s not about spiritual forces and values, which are another story, although they are certainly related. After all, Paul the tentmaker spent valuable time soliciting shekels not just for himself but the church in Jerusalem. Nobody had their hand in his pocket.

Image credits: Igor Dernovoy, Europeana, Roma Kaiukua, Jiyeon Park, Jonathan Pielmayer. Want more? Click on Amazon top right or go to Robert Brancatelli. The Brancatelli Blog is a member of The Free Media Alliance, which promotes “alternatives to software, culture, and hardware monopolies.”