“Tik tok, tik tok,” goes the clock. Second by second, hour by hour, day by day, this old friend orders our existence. We seldom take notice of this mechanism or recognize the truly significant place it occupies, but it is always there. By it we schedule our lives and evaluate our usefulness. But what if it is wrong? How can we know? As long as the hands are moving it is impossible to evaluate the accuracy of a clock without another reference. What if the impression given by its face is not correct? Do we continue to orient our lives by its guidance? What if our clock is inconsistent and can be trusted in some moments, but not in others?
Emotions are a mystery. I know there is chemistry behind the way I feel, but I am largely ignorant to the way it all works. Why do smiles feel good? Why does stress wind up my innards and try to steal my joy? Like a clock orders my day, my emotions determine how I experience life. The value of each moment and the beauty of each soul is more often a function of my own sentiment than a reflection of the genuine situation. And, like an erroneous timepiece, I find it impossible to know when my emotions provide an inaccurate picture. Indeed, without an outside reference, maintaining the correct bearings is unattainable.
How can the situation be improved? In his essay, “The Lion and the Honeycomb,” Leonard Tolstoy compared the physical and spiritual sides of human nature to a clock. He pointed out that a clock can be changed by adjusting the hands, or by moving the inner mechanisms. Taking this a step further, while we can correct the time by moving the hands of a clock, we cannot truly fix an errant timepiece without changing it internally. In my own life I realize how I often want to correct my emotional situation without digging deeply in my spirit to repair the brokenness within that is producing an improper view of life. Instead of just accepting my emotions, I must take time to analyze “why” I am feeling the way I am.
In this process placing blame comes easily. Something or someone is at fault. The problem with this approach is that I often have disturbingly little control over my circumstances and even less on people around me. And since I can’t change them, I am left with the arduous prospect of changing myself. When true internal metamorphosis comes, I gain remarkable freedom to live above my circumstances and to keep true time in the rhythm of life.
So let me ask you, as I ask myself, are your emotions keeping true time? Are they providing an accurate view? Often the task of correcting erroneous emotions requires an outside reference. A good friend is necessary. Not a judge, or someone with answers, just a listener, . . a friend. For a Christian, faith also provides a critical anchor. Love and hope pour from a genuine, examined, and malleable trust in God.
Tik tok, tik tok. . . how are you keeping time?
