While some measure time in seconds and weeks, others did it by watching 365 sunrises and sunsets and making marks on rocks. A lot of us measure time by events; end of wars, assassinations, earthquakes and storms. Part of our timing mechanism is man made and some of it just happens and we have no say in it.
The issue then boils down to a matter of balance. We walk some sort of high wire over the minefield of calamities and epics hoping, I guess, that we just survive it all without incident. When things boil up underneath we just look forward and walk; full of hope that our eyes wide shut sense of balances wins out.
A lot of folks didn't win out this last week. For many of them, this boil and trouble will stretch out through the holidays at the very least and the beauty that dots our life-scapes, year to year, will be blotted out by the misery of today.
When things are tough it is perhaps a good thing to toss a little dream back at the adversity. Dream of good things. Beautiful things. Something that lifts you up past that boil and trouble and gives you a few minutes of calm..wire tight, balance certain, eyes forward.