ime, Time, Time

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

The Baron often enjoyed his long philosophical discussion with his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, formerly of Cambridge and Oxford Universities in England.

The newest topic was about time. How did time sometimes move slowly and other times very rapidly?

The Professor felt that the speed of time and the impression of speed, or lack of it, was owed to three factors: the people you are with, the place you are in, and the situation you are involved with.

The more all three factors can be controlled, the faster time seems to pass.

“For example, you plan a reception for some guests. Everyone who is there you know and like very much. The event takes place in your favorite reception room in the castle and your event is a birthday celebration. All three items would make this an enjoyable occasion and the event would seem to go by very quickly,” explained the Professor.

“Suppose you were in church and the sermon was all about everyone being a sinner and very few people would be welcomed in Heaven, plus the church was damp and cold with inadequate heat. When the church choir sang, they had a hard time hitting the proper notes. This would be a seemingly long event. But if there were bright spring flowers and a wedding, there would an altogether different attitude toward time.

“Take a sunny picnic, favorite friends are invited, favorite food and drinks are served. It is a celebration of a promotion of a close member of the group. But that is only two of the three factors. The sunny day quickly turns cloudy and a shower quickly comes up. Now everyone is all wet and unhappy,” concluded the Professor.

When it came to state matters, the Baron usually liked to send the Professor so that he could avoid long-winded debates about trivial matters.

The Baron and the Professor agreed, “When you can strongly influence the three factors, people, place and event, things seem to go better.”