Here in the US we switch to daylight savings time every spring. In our parlance, we "spring" ahead, so 7AM becomes 8AM, and 10PM becomes 11PM, and so on throughout the whole day. Our general reaction is "WHAT time is it really?" We wander around for a few days constantly asking ourselves that question and trying to figure out the answer. To make it even more confusing, we "lose" an hour. Where did it go? But eventually, we all get used to it and things settle down... until fall when we go back to standard time and we "gain" an hour. Huh?

I have been coping with this time change by being mindful enough to catch myself in that wondering and figuring "what time is it really?" moment to remind myself that it is now, only now. Sunday was terrible. Monday was weird. Today I am settled enough to write this. The time change is the best real life example of time as emptiness I have experienced. The day is the same. Nothing has changed except for this construction we have put on it, and it throws us for a loop. Time is such a huge part of our daily reality, yet it is empty.

Of course, time is also form. If you have to be somewhere at 8AM and you end up late because of the confusion, which is common, there are consequences. I have heard there are more car accidents and other serious things that happen right after we spring forward, so it is important to pay attention to the form of time, even if the changing of its form is silly.