A clock or watch isn’t just a mere appliance for measuring time. It doesn’t only symbolize the rhythm of life and passage of time, a watch is also a reminder of personal limits, which can be especially frustrating. 😉 Even though, at first, it seems like a simple appliance which helps us track hours and minutes, organize our day, a watch is essentially much more than that.
It’s a silent witness of our every day, a viewer of all our moments – from those easy, calm, to fast and exciting ones. With a watch time isn’t just an abstract concept, but becomes something tangible, something that can be seen and felt. Each tick of the clock tells us that nothing stays the same, that the world moves forward, that each moment carries its own meaning, but also to remind us of everything we can’t relive.

In many cultures, a watch is a symbol of life itself – constant, endlessly flowing. It shows us that every moment is precious and that our relationship with time isn’t just a technical matter, but rather deeply emotional and philosophical.
A watch is a reminder of our mortality, but also a reminder that we can affect our destiny. We can battle time, try to slow it down or keep it, but right there lies its strength – it’s relentless, it doesn’t pause or wait. In its simplicity, a watch is profoundly philosophic because it dares us to rethink how we use the time that we were given and in what way, through our actions, choices, how we shape our life.

So, we’ve established – a watch isn’t just an instrument. It’s our companion through life, a reminder that time never stands still, but also a call to live life to the fullest while time still lasts. To measure time more accurately, people invented various ways which led to the first clocks. Whether it be a shadow which shows the position of the sun on some scale, then with water dripping from one jar into another, so they invented water clocks (clepsydra) or sand clocks, where sand flows through a thin part of the jar into the other; it was all a part of people’s ingenuity to get the grip with the passage of time and measure it.
Can we imagine civilization without time and clocks? What a mad house that would be, in the best possible sense! No one would know what it means to be “on time”. Would we show at work as we please? Maybe we would collectively stop worrying about deadlines. And what about meetings? That would probably become a phenomenon such as “let’s meet when we’re both available, but let’s invite a few more people as well” 😊 Imagine a world where the most important thing is to wake up, but not when. Maybe we would all have a “we’ll wake up as we please “routine and breeze through the day without rushing… But would everything be more relaxed? Maybe there would be new terms, such as “Come when you’ve had enough sleep” rather than “we start at 9”! We would work when we feel creative, rather than because we must and maybe there would be many more art projects and cheery dances across squares!
Without clocks, everything would become, hmmm... flexible. We would probably develop internal clocks, which would tell us when “it’s a good time for everything”, and the rest of the day would become, so to speak, be guided spontaneously. Overbooked schedules, and all those so called “scaled plans” would be a thing of the past. If you feel like having a coffee at 2PM, it would mean it’s the right time for that. If you feel like swimming at 3AM, that would be perfectly fine too.
We could forget birthday presents, of course! Maybe we wouldn’t even know when it’s someone’s birthday, because who would know if a year has passed? There would be many more spontaneous “happy moments” without thinking about what time it is. Not to mention, we wouldn’t even realize how much time had passed as we were sitting in a café, because why let the clock spoil our fun? 😊 On the other hand, we would probably have to develop new social norms, such as “give me a sign when it’s time to leave”, because it’s hard to leave when you have no idea how much time has passed. Maybe new social rules would be established: if someone says, “that was two storms ago”, we would all know a few hysterical cycles of (bad) weather have passed. In short, civilization without time would be much more based on spontaneous moments rather than angrily running after a clock, which is always against us. 😊 Would everything be full of laughter, fun, and relaxed people who are never in a hurry?... maybe apart from, when a hurricane, tornado or other natural unpredictable phenomenon is coming.
Only place in the world without time can be found in the north of Norway, in the Arctic Circle. On the island Somaroy, lesser-known fishing village of unbelievable beauty, there isn’t a traditional 24-hour concept of time. As a symbol of their decision to forget about time, inhabitants of Somaroy removed their clocks and hung them on the bridge that leads to the island.
If you visit this place during summer, you will experience 69 days of constant midnight sun and more than 70 days of polar nights. To fully enjoy in the bright summer, the government doesn’t require shops and schools to operate during certain hours and that’s called “the mirror of timelessness”. From November to February, every time you open the door, you can see mesmerizing polar lights and that’s why this small island is recognized as the most beautiful island of polar lights in the world. No one rushes you to do something at a specific time, there’s no morning rush, there’s no need to follow a strict routine. Even if this was all a mere wish, if it didn’t exist, to me it is like a fairytale. Because in this place, time shivers in fear in front of the strength of nature, under the unreal polar sky love gets a completely new definition. All around is unreal abundance: abundance of views, lights, sounds of nature, but still, it is quieter than anywhere else in the world because there is no room for unimportant things. Compressed in one moment you can feel all around presence, emotions, connection, eternity.
If our hands could embrace all that beauty, all those moments in this small part of the world, we could say that we are, like never before, hopelessly in love..
That’s why, not all clocks should be used to explain bad decisions, as excuses for being late, for those nervous “ooops I have only got 5 minutes left”. Actually, a clock is the best trick which humanity ever invented – it gave us a bit of an illusion that we can catch up with time.
What about you? Do you look at the clock to find out what time it is or how much time is left until the next break?😉

JJ Beba 🕒