When time runs out…
We all have triggers that tell us when we are becoming overloaded or stressed. Do we always recognise them?
In my home I have two clocks on an eight day winding cycle. My Grandfather’s Grandfather clock comes from my native Norfolk. It was excellently restored by my brother in law. It is a piece of furniture that embodies our whole family. It quietly, but assertively, tick tocks its way through the day, and stamps out the hour, with its single note, on the wooden floor boards on which it stands.
The mantle clock is a little more delicate, with quarters and hours. Dating from the thirties or so, it has a wooden case, and is well worn and used, and no longer familiar with a modern concept of keeping time. It mimics Big Ben, with a gentler tune, and then just as you thought you recognised the rhythm, throws a bum note on the hour. This clock was a Christmas present from some very dear friends, some years ago.
Both clocks accompany me through the day, sometimes heard, sometimes not. In the small hours they provide comfort, help me realise that the world is still alive, and that I have a few more precious hours to rest. Relentlessly unwinding, and pacing out the days, the clocks are a constant, only needing my full attention for a couple of minutes each weekend.
My clocks are a living part of my safe place, my home. The sanctuary that provides respite from all that life throws at me. The ticking of the clocks bring the house to life, help to create that critical feeling of home.
But when time runs out in my life – the clocks stop. This is the sign for me. If I no longer have those two minutes in my weekend to wind my clocks, then it is time to step back and look. The unwound clocks are the first sign that I have lost focus on the important things. The home is now a house, other people and support mechanisms are at risk of neglect. It has taken me some time to realise that the silence of the clocks is something for me to act on, across my life. The two minutes rewinding the clocks give me back the time to reflect, and put things right again.
Do you know what happens when time runs out for you?
