Places Where Time Stands Still
Life is constantly putting one foot in front of the other, while simultaneously trying to avoid tripping, not stepping in dog poop, and checking if you’re even going the right way in the first place. There is the age-old phrase, “Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.” Well, the world is burning, and sometimes, I have to make do with a rose-scented candle or spray myself with some perfume.
However, there are places in this world where time just stops. I’m not speaking in a spiritual sense where it’s just you and nature, or you lose track of time because you’re having so much fun. These are the places where you don’t have any choice but to be present.
Airports/Airplanes — Yes, both of these environments can be stressful. I, too, check and make sure that my gate exists 5 times before going to get food, and I will refuse to venture too far from my gate to get said food. However, sitting at the gate, and accepting that everything is out of my control can be quite calming, freeing even.
It is the perfect place to people-watch: A woman just ran into the arms of a man holding flowers. Are they married? Dating? Engaged? How long has it been since he saw her? It doesn’t matter; they are together now.
An older woman boards the plane with two little boys at her side. Are they going home? Just visiting? Are they on a connecting flight to Disneyland, where they will create memories to last them a lifetime, and they will tell this woman that she is the best mom ever! It doesn’t matter where they are going or where they came from; they are right here, right now.
Various people with different lives are all congregated in one place with the same goal: getting somewhere (eventually). Whether it is at a gate or in the air, we are all blessed with the gift of waiting, waiting, and sitting with excitement.
Movie Theaters — I am immensely grateful that COVID-19 did not permanently take away movie theaters. A giant room where we are socially forced to put away our phones and not look at them for 3 hours. All the while, we get to enjoy a masterpiece that came from a stranger’s mind, and then was put into gorgeous visuals.
Do you ever get that wave of shock when walking out of the movie theater? Not just the showroom, but when you actually go outside? When that happens to me, I find myself fighting the urge to turn around and go back inside. Let me enjoy the time away from reality a little bit longer. Let me escape into a world of romance, laughter, drama, and action because my world can be too intense.
Hospitals — I know I romanticized the two places listed above, and a hospital can be an environment that brings out sadness and stress for a lot of people, even if something positive is happening, like a life-saving surgery or a child coming into the world. To me, this is a place where priorities come to light. This is the place where a little boy gets to leave school early to come and meet his new baby sister. This is a place where a man who has been in dire need of a new kidney gets his damaged one replaced. This is the place where family members share their favorite childhood memories before finding comfort that grandma is no longer going to be in pain, and will get to dance the jitterbug with grandpa again.
Time stops because we make it stop. We hold on to those life-changing moments because they are what gives life meaning. Yes, those life-changing moments are not always positive, and in a lot of ways, they can be devastating, but they still can put a lot of things in perspective.
Sometimes we need a break. In the hustle and bustle of airport security and rushing to get where we need to be, we need to people-watch. When reality gets to be too much, we need to go off the grid for a couple of hours to escape into another reality…one that will always have a resolution or a happy ending.
Time is precious, and in a world that tells you to go faster, make money quicker, and the clock is ticking, we can miss a lot. We can’t go back. Most of the time, we can’t try again. So when you feel time stop, sit with it.
