On Winged Words...: Time

(pssst: this post has pictures so if you don't have the time to read it all, just scroll down and look at my time here in Greece so far ;) )

Time is a strange thing.

It really is.

Let’s consider a week. Just one week. Seems straightforward enough but in just one week is contained so much and this one week can be viewed/seen/examined/perceives in so many different ways/angles/lights (see there’s even too many synonyms and choices for just describing its complexity).

So here’s the deal:

We’ve only been in Greece for one week.

And yet.

We’ve only been in Greece for one week.

In the first rendition of that phrase we attempt reassurance as we realize and remind ourselves that the first week or two of anything new is always an adjustment for everyone. We don’t know the language yet, but it’s only been a week—we will learn more and more the longer we are here and we are here for awhile, so hang on kinda thing. We’re tired and still getting used to everything, but again, we’ve only been here for a week—we’ll get settled into a routine and it will get better. We still have so much to learn and do and see, but, you guessed it, we’ve only been here for a week and we still have time for all that. It will come. So this chant kind of serves as a reminder to breathe and settle in for the ride. Because it’s only been a week…

It’s about perspective.

But we can’t for a moment think time is that simple. Most of this stuff may still be all Greek, but we’re not that naïve. Let’s change perspective.

For in the latter utterance of that chant we hear a tune entirely different---full, near to bursting with life and excitement and more. We’ve only been here for a week and look at all we’ve done, all we’ve accomplished, all we’ve seen, all we’ve tasted, all we’ve learned, all we’ve lived!

We’ve done a ton with orientation—meeting all the people we will be working with, learning about the different programs, hearing about what our jobs will entail, getting super excited as we realize how awesome the program and school truly are and how great it will be to be working and learning here for the next year! Meeting the people who are all in the same boat for the next year, and learning the ropes to that boat as we experience all of these things in Greece for the first time (or at least for the first time here this year together). I mean, take a minute and think about all we’ve done: we’ve been on the bus and the metro a few times, and taxied here and there, and walked absolutely all over (literally 10+ miles days!). We’ve been to Chalandri and Panormou and downtown and many places in between. We’ve made grocery store runs and have gone down to the track to run. Syntagma to Moastiraki Squares. And we’ve had gyros and Greek food galore—gyros here, gyros there, gyros pretty much everywhere! Nostimos J (Greek for delicious just in case you might be worried it sounds like something unpleasant). And look at that—we’ve even learned a Greek word or two, too. Now actually listing it all out took more room than I was anticipating—and that’s not even close to being a complete and succinct list of all we’ve done this last week. Making the most of every moment we can. And we’ve only been here for a week!

Moreover, we’ve been to a place where time takes on another meaning altogether. On Friday we took a tour of the Acropolis (translating as the highest point in the city, known pictorially more for being the standing place of the remains of the Parthenon, the temple to Athena for whom the city was named, and there’s a story and a whole lot more we could say about it that we won’t go into right now). But anyway, lets see how the Acropolis can teach us about time. This place, the Parthenon and surrounding buildings and walls and everything found within them were all begun over 2500 years ago—as in B.C. era—and it has sustained so much in those 2500 years—changing hands multiple times, becoming a church, a mosque, a victim of theft even. And yet it still stands. For 2500 years.

And we’ve only been in Greece for a week.

And if you want to go even further, think about all the people who have stepped within the shadow of those columns, made the climb up to the highest point in Greece (actually not technically the highest, but for the sake of water, the practical highest point… ;)). Think about all who have thought, spoken, argued, made peace, created, defended, walked, laughed, loved, lived there…does your brain hurt yet?

When you walk there, you’re confronted with past present future in every step. You add your footprints to the countless others that have gone before you while making way for those who will follow. You have your moment in time, here in this place, and it’s enough. And then you move on because time moves on (well, and because there’s a whole slew of people pushing behind you to catch a glimpse of the ruins themselves and have their moment in time).

But time is a strange thing. It truly is. It moves and it stands still. It destroys and it preserves. It makes you think and it changes you—if you let it.

I’ve had the time of my life so far. But if I’m being honest, I know I haven’t made the most of every moment I’ve been given, both here in Greece and before. But while I have the time I’ve got to make time for time. Make the most of every moment because it’s the only one you have. There goes another one… So here’s to a minute an hour a day a week a month a year.

Because we’ve only been in Greece for one week.

We’ve only been in Greece for one week…

(P.S. Here are some pictures from that one week!)