Time is... a sword!

To get a broader perspective on TIME, I asked my favorite Saudi Arabian to tell me his culture's view on the subject.  Mansour Ahmed Ibrahim Almubarak Altwaijri (we just call him Manny, but his full name makes him seem more "exotic," which of course we get a kick out of doing) told me an old Islamic saying:

"Time is like a sword.  If you don't cut it, it will end up cutting you."  

In other words, you are to take advantage of time,  value it, or it will just pass you by.  I thought this was interesting because the typical American views of time- as a gift or money- makes it seem as though it is controlled by us, as though it is something that we can hold, take, or give away.  The Arabic culture sees time more as what it really is: something that will exist, and move along, whether or not we chose to acknowledge it or do anything about it.

Manny's behavior reflects this belief in a rather amusing way.  He is a blur of constant motion.  He doesn't procrastinate on things that he wants to do or has to do, and a particularly important goal will always be on his mind.  His time in America for school is rapidly drawing short and his behavior is becoming more frenzied each month.  I sometimes wonder if this is the effect of blending his culture's belief in taking full advantage of time, and the Western ideal of  placing a value on time in light of what was accomplished within it.