Places where time doesn't matter
It's surprising how places that are designed around schedules and that are time-sensitive are the ones that give us the feeling of time slipping from under our feet.
It's interesting how impatient we usually are. Just a few minutes of delay in getting our food delivered or at a delay at a restaurant can drive us restless.
Yet, there are certain places where we simply stop worrying about time—hospitals, airports, trains, or long flights.
In hospital waiting rooms, clocks seem meaningless. Minutes quietly stretch into hours, but we don't impatiently check our watches. The worry isn't about time passing, but about what's waiting for us. Like Schrödinger’s cat, the news we're waiting for is both hopeful and scary at the same time, until we finally know.
At airports, strict schedules matter only until we cross security. After that, we slip into a different rhythm. People slow down, accepting the wait as part of the journey itself. They stand quietly by large windows, watching airplanes move gently across the tarmac—calm in a way they're not in daily life.
On long flights and train rides, it's the same. We drift into a suspended reality where time isn't really slow or fast; it just doesn't exist. Conversations flow more easily, books become more enjoyable, and thoughts wander without effort.
It's funny how these places, designed around schedules—like hospitals with appointment timings, airports with departure screens, and trains with their fixed timetables—actually help us let go of our usual impatience.
In these special moments, we quietly discover that sometimes forgetting about time feels comforting. It's a break we didn't know we needed in our always-busy lives.