Time is closely related to space. We wear watches in space to measure time. Sometimes time passes slowly (typically when we’re bored) and sometimes it passes quickly (typically when we’re having fun).
And yet the irony is that when we have memories of weeks of boredom, they are stored in very thin layers. Our memories of fun events, birthdays, weddings, and vacations are stored in vast expanses, so that we can remember small details such as the ceramic watches we wore and how we perfumed ourselves before going to dinner at that resort we stayed at in Costa Rica, and how the readings at our sister’s wedding made us tear up…
We break from our routines to create rich memories. Otherwise our lives fall in rapid succession, and are hardly different from others. And don’t most of us want to individualize ourselves? If we don’t, we find ourselves looking back upon our youth in old age wishing we had more to reflect upon.
That’s also why we wear watches. They help us to make use of our time so we can remember there’s more to life than monotonous work. We work so we can buy luxury watches and remind ourselves to live.