Out of Time

Trey Smith

The other day I was watching a human interest feature on ESPN. One of the stories concerned ultra distance runner Diane Van Deren. She was diagnosed with epilepsy in her 30s and later underwent surgery in the attempt to halt her many seizures. The surgery has proven successful, but it came with a strange cost: Van Deren easily loses track of time.

In the report (see video below), reporter Tom Rinaldi asks Van Deren at some point in the interview how long she thinks they have been talking. She guesses less than one hour and Rinaldi tells her they've been talking for nearly 2 and one-half hours!

In this modern world, most of us consider keeping track of time so very important. We have to get to work on time plus appointments to keep and social engagements to attend. Most people either wear a watch or constantly check their electronic device for the correct time.

While I certainly am not in the same boat as Van Deren, I can identify with her situation somewhat. I don't have a job and I don't socialize much. Most of my time is spent alone and, in many ways, the days seem to run together. I often can't remember what day it is or what the date is. I just sort of float through a lot of my life.

On the other hand, I still have appointments to keep and certain responsibilities around the house that involve specific times -- like feeding the dogs or making sure the trash is out by the alley at the correct time on the proper day.

Still, while I realize the difficulties Van Deren must face on a daily basis, I sort of envy her. Existence in a sort of timeless space sounds liberating. Often, it is the constraints of time which cause us stress and so being freed from such constraints might reduce the stress...or maybe not.