In my humble opinion, clocks are without a doubt the most beautiful objects that mankind has had the will to create. I'm in love with their ticking, faces, hands, components, shapes; everything about them draws me right in. Call it an obsession if you want. I'm obsessed. I love reading up on the history of man telling time, from the crudest stick-in-the-ground sundial to our modern electronic smart clocks. To me, listening to a clock tick is a form of therapy, similar to meditation or popping bubble wrap. If I can just lay down, close my eyes and listen, I am reminded that life goes on, everything must come to an end, and the world will always continue turning. Oh, and pendulums are nice too, love 'em.
I don't remember where my fondness for clocks began. I vaguely remember being afraid of the dark as a child, as well as being afraid to sleep in unfamiliar rooms (such as a friend's house, relative's, hotel, etc.). I would always be able to calm myself down if I listened to whatever clock happened to be mounted on the wall. I used to focus on the ticking, tricking my brain into thinking every other tick was accented, then making it all seem monotonous. That's another thing about clocks that tickles me pink, knowing that all over the world, they all have the same interval; that is to say, all ticking will more or less sound familiar to you. They're reliable. We know that even though we can't see the stars during the day, they are there. I know that as long as there is a clock nearby, I can be at ease listening to it. I think the moment I realized I had a particular affinity for clocks was watching Pinocchio as a child, maybe when I was 7 or 8, and being super excited for the sequence where all of the cuckoo clocks went off at the same time. I was so freaking giddy and ready for that part of the film, and when it was over I probably turned it off to be honest.
My all time favorite memory associated with clocks has got to be visiting the British museum in February of 2014. Rooms 38-39 are just FULL of clocks, from the earliest to the present. To be honest my blood pressure is spiking just thinking about that trip I was so happy, so I'm not going to go into major detail. All I can say is that I walked out of those rooms and may have walked right back into them again. I want to go back. On par with that memory is my favorite clock I own, which is ticking away steadily right over my head. It's a simple, square, and flat wooden clock that a close friend made for me on my 20th birthday. On top of that sentimental value, it is truly gorgeous, as the numbers around the clock are hand painted black roman numerals on top of the grain of the light-colored wood. I stare at it all the time. <<get it?
1. Listen to a clock
2. Realize that clocks are soothing
3. Look at pictures of pretty antique bracket and grandfather clocks.
4. Understand that you can't properly live without being able to tell time.
5. Become obsessed
