The Obsession with Time
My comfort films revolve around some commonalities: sappy light-hearted jokes, a slice of life with a hint of drama, a lot of tears slipping out in the middle of the film, and the odd theme of time relating them all.
Look Both Ways is a Netflix film that talks about a girl who lived two different lives — either being pregnant after graduating from university, or striving in her career as an artist, and both end up with the same dream reached in her career and being happy with someone she fell in love with.
Tick Tick Boom shows how Jonathan Larson continues to write in a desperate act to make his way into Broadway and theater, with the tragic ending of him not making his debut with his musical Superbia, and the further tragedy of how he did not get to witness the success of his musical, Rent.
Age of Adaline presents a girl, Adaline, constantly being on the run as she shows what it is like not to age, and the value of
We Live in Time, one that has been freshly added to the list reveals how we try so hard to make a legacy, to be remembered and not be forgotten, and only to be hit with the reality of spending our time with the one’s worth spending, and the legacy that truly matters is the one with those who has connected with us and our lives.
When it was pointed to me that time was the common theme among my comfort films, I was shocked how I never connected the dots, and only had the help of someone I care about that I realize how much I crave movies that talk about time and life. Which begs the question, why?
There’s this sense of impending doom, the feeling that I am running out of time. Perhaps that is why I say yes to every opportunity life throws at me. I refuse to slow down, and refuse to stop. If time cannot be frozen, I must be constantly on the move. If life refuses to stop, I must always be in motion. Perhaps it is finally the conversation with my obsession with time that forces me to look into the mirror: why do I live like I’m running out of time?
Because I am. We are. No matter which timeline I choose, there are not enough books I can read, there are not enough stories I can write, there are not enough towns I can visit, and there are not enough foods I can savor on. I am stuck in the doomed realization that I will never have enough time. Then begs the question, what is worth my time?
Why do I write so much, only for a handful of people to read it? Why do I run kilometer after kilometer, when so many people have run longer and faster than I ever can? Why do I teach little kids, when in three years they won’t even remember my name? We long so much to make a legacy in this world, for something to outlast, when in three to four generations time, our grandchildren or great-grandchildren won’t remember who we were and how we lived our lives.
And it begs the question, why do we feel like we’re running out of time? For once, can we simply just be? Can we soak in the moments that we have without worrying what is for dinner? What’s the next deadline? What’s the next big thing?
I guess this is what the great King Solomon has meant when he said “Everything is vanity.” Because in a way, it is true.
Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.
But the things that count, enjoying life, enjoying relationships, enjoying God. Maybe we ought to stop chasing the things that are still far off, and simply, enjoy the time that we have now.
Enjoy the friends and family. Enjoy the food and drinks. Enjoy God in all His glory. Enjoy the time we have now.
And maybe, at this moment, that can be enough.
