If the Bells Stopped Ringing

Yesterday in school the bell stopped ringing, and everyone seemed genuinely worried. We all depend so heavily on that bell to tell us what to do, where to go. But I suppose it’s not really the bell that we are all dependent on, but the thing which it represents: time.  When you go to the basic core of life, humans have a lot of the same responsibilities as animals: care for our children, find food, water, and shelter. But there’s one thing that we worry about that belongs strictly to us, and that is the concept of a clock. These baby birds have no idea what time of day it is, and they aren’t worried about that.  They don’t worry about waking up by 6, getting to work by 8, or eating at 12. They wake up when the sun comes up, and they eat when they are hungry.  Our lives are hectic, racing against the clock, always trying not to be late. If we just slowed down and took one day where we all decided to put the clocks away, I think we would finally understand why the birds can sing a carefree song when the world is speeding away.