"If you cannot afford yourself any luxuries for the time being, at least offer yourself the one priceless luxury no one can take away from you – your time".
I heard Madrid was a creative and timeless place – and I never really understood it until now. An observation after 9 months here is that the streets of Madrid are composed of 40% of people, 30% of cars, and 30% of handmade-adds – from selling cars to houses, to renting studios or storage space, buying or selling gold, and most of all, a ludicrous amount of workshops on anything (I will never forget the day I saw an ad offering people how to make fire…).
People are exploiting all ways to make money in such creative ways from adds to selling Kleenexes or lighters in the street. And it is sad to see that those in line for food giveaways are not just the hobos. But also the students, the old folks and the mothers…just a few of the disguised signs of a country in crisis.
But while the people of Madrid seem to have resigned to selling almost anything - the one thing they have never given up on so far - is time. It is the one commodity that is never sold and always shared. La Latina and its packed terraces on Sundays will prove it to you, as will the hours at which Spanish people eat (21pm) or the normal time at which they come home from partying (6am). But most of all, you will notice it in the amount of public benches around the city; as if no matter when in the day, there will always be time for a break or an afternoon discussion with a friend or with a stranger – and even more so when there is a ray of sun out. Time as they know it, is stretched in all its extents.
They say time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time; but when your wallet is telling you that cannot afford yourself any luxuries for the time being, at least offer yourself the one priceless luxury no one can take away from you – your time. And while you can always regret some of the things you did, regretting what you didn’t do is far worse. Offer, share or organize your time and do it for the things you love and with the people you love. And if you don’t know what those things are, then take the time to do out and find out. Because time is priceless but also limited…
People are exploiting all ways to make money in such creative ways from adds to selling Kleenexes or lighters in the street. And it is sad to see that those in line for food giveaways are not just the hobos. But also the students, the old folks and the mothers…just a few of the disguised signs of a country in crisis.
But while the people of Madrid seem to have resigned to selling almost anything - the one thing they have never given up on so far - is time. It is the one commodity that is never sold and always shared. La Latina and its packed terraces on Sundays will prove it to you, as will the hours at which Spanish people eat (21pm) or the normal time at which they come home from partying (6am). But most of all, you will notice it in the amount of public benches around the city; as if no matter when in the day, there will always be time for a break or an afternoon discussion with a friend or with a stranger – and even more so when there is a ray of sun out. Time as they know it, is stretched in all its extents.
They say time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time; but when your wallet is telling you that cannot afford yourself any luxuries for the time being, at least offer yourself the one priceless luxury no one can take away from you – your time. And while you can always regret some of the things you did, regretting what you didn’t do is far worse. Offer, share or organize your time and do it for the things you love and with the people you love. And if you don’t know what those things are, then take the time to do out and find out. Because time is priceless but also limited…
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