What other choice do you really have, anyway?!

Is time a fixed element as perceived by the average person, or is it more malleable, as suggested by Einstein, something that ebbs and flows like the seductive currents of a cosmic river? Like it or not, time is one of the major intangible influences that govern our lives and lifestyles. Even though it’s allotted equally to all, some never have enough while others seem to squander it freely. I’ve observed people that live their lives without the self-imposed constraint of scheduling or planning, like time was a minor factor in their interface with the world. Needless to say, each culture deals with time in a way that best suits the overall character of the population.

It would appear that the relatively small group of gringos in Mazatlán definitely assigns a greater value to time, this elusive dictator of our reality, than the locals do. I believe the local culture, in general, thrives in the moment, and the rest is relegated to mañana, that mythical time frame that exists somewhere beyond today. In an ideal world, everyone would show up on time and all scheduled events would commence at exactly their appointed time. But how boring would that be? It would remove both the elements of anticipation and surprise from our daily lives in Mazatlán. Plus, if everyone and everything adhered to its predetermined time frame, some people would have absolutely nothing to bitch about.

There are those within the local business community that have taken steps to adhere to the contemporary concept of punctuality along with those that view time as that pesky indicator that other people seem so obsessed with, especially the gringos. The typical north-of-the-border mindset is that if you make an emergency call to a plumber and he says he’ll be right there, you expect to see him post-haste. But we all know here in Mazatlán that’s not always the case. What you must realize - and here is where it becomes tricky - is that the plumber is telling you the truth when he commits to coming right over; at least it was the truth at the time. Between setting the phone down and actually arriving at your doorstep any number of time-consuming events could have taken place in his world, all of them viewed as more important than your overflowing toilet because they exist in his immediate present. These types of people live so much in the moment that I feel they’re somewhat blameless in their lack of reliability. So when that plumber finally shows up three days after your call, and your backed-up toilet has taken over several rooms of your house, you need to realize it’s not really his fault - it’s his cultural concept of time that’s impaired his speedy response.

While waiting in line at the bank or any government office, time only exists in agonizingly drawn-out moments that can seem to stretch into days. There are people that obviously enter a time warp when they take a job behind a desk; their personal clock goes glacial. To me it’s a remarkable thing to watch the general population patiently waiting for the unhurried bureaucrat to dispense his services. If this lackadaisical attitude was displayed by a public servant in LA or New York, the ensuing shooting would make national news. But in a society where time does not govern lifestyle, serenity trumps annoyance when folks are made to linger longer than would be normally tolerable to the average gringo. The Zen of the queue is a practiced Mexican art form I still have a hard time integrating into my day-to-day life.

The true consideration is what one does with the time they presume to have. Do you spend your time wisely? Do you spend your time freely? Do you enjoy your moments as they come, or spend your present in anticipation of some predetermined future? Remember, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and all the time you will ever have is right now.

Bodie Kellogg is an agnostic hedonist who can be found around Mazatlán indulging his hedonistic proclivities on a regular basis.