This Is How We Defy The Clock God!
- markthemysticactiv
- May 18
- 8 min read

“I LONG FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY –
BUT I DON´T HAVE THE TIME TO HELP CREATE IT!”
IF WE´RE EXHAUSTED, HOW CAN WE CO-CREATE THE NEW?
I hear so many people say they “have no time”, that they feel rushed, pressured – and exhausted!
I also hear lots and lots of people say they long for community – for deep, connected, eco-loving, local community.
But, of course, if everyone´s busy, busy, busy – working, paying the bills, shopping, housekeeping, looking after the children – then nobody has time to vision, plan and co-create meaningful, local community.
So the question I want to ask here is “how can we support each other in reclaiming out time?”
Because then, when we feel we have plenty of time, no longer feel overwhelmed and exhausted (and no longer feel that every household has to do everything by itself!) – then, when we feel more relaxed, and feel supported – then we´ll have the space to co-create the communities we dream of.
GROWTH WORK AND THERAPY AREN´T ENOUGH!
People say “change yourself, and the world around you will change”. I agree. But not if that statement is used to justify inaction. In other words – yes, as we change, the world changes – but we participate in that change with our action. And we can´t act if we have no time!
For example. As we change we find we now value handmade furniture above mass-produced, factory furniture. We want to learn carpentry skills. But we can´t - because Monday to Friday we work nine to five, and at weekends we´re busy with DIY – so we have no time!
Or as we change we begin to see school has little to do with helping our children become themselves, and lots to do with training them to become functional units in a society that sees itself as a machine – so we want to take them out of school, and find alternatives. But we can´t – because we have to go to work to be able to shop, and pay our road tax and car insurance and house insurance and our mobile phone contract, and gas, electricity and water bills.... In fact we need school as a babysitting service so that we can be free to earn the money we need to pay for the roof over our heads, and live legally in society.
Of course we need inner, personal change. The way we relate to each other, and to the world we find ourselves in, is primary. If we relate unconsciously, how can we hope to co-create conscious communities (even if we have lots of time)? Workshops and therapy sessions and meditation and ceremonies are important. Of course they are. We have to develop the capacity to remain present, and not be “possessed” by our inherited woundings and conditionings.
But if we only cultivate our consciousness – and don´t act to co-create alternative, caring, conscious communities – then we will remain controlled by the dominant, machine culture. And we won´t have the time and space to co-create the new. From the time we wake to the time we go to bed – the process of our lives will be dictated by social and economic factors determined by, and imposed by, the artificial, superficial, dominant culture. We might be more conscious - more relaxed, peaceful and content - as we proceed along the channels dictated by, and controlled by, The Machine – but we will still be under its dictatorship and control.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS INDUSTRY
In fact, The Machine encourages this “becoming more conscious”. After all, it presents no challenge to its infrastructure. And so, with its usual entrepreneurial brilliance - it has made it into another industry! It has invented The Consciousness Industry – providing consumers with conscious lifestyle choices – not only consciousness enhancement (workshops, therapy, and so on), but conscious entertainment, conscious holidays, conscious clothing and food, and so on. Because: better to have relaxed, peaceful, contented functional units - than stressed, agitated, argumentative functional units!
Following the ever-more-complex rules of The Machine leaves us tense, stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted. So, just as we service a car, we are invited to select a product or service from the Consciousness Industry´s catalogue of repair options – and soon we´re back on our feet again - back in the office on Monday morning - our muscles massaged, our skin rejuvenated, our worried minds unburdened - awake once again to the miracle of existence. And instantly - the cycle begins again!
I don´t mean to be judgemental. We all need a little “repair” from time to time! And perhaps some of us need more than others. And who am I to judge the lifestyle choices of others? But what I am saying is that if we want to break this stress/destress cycle, and co-create alternatives to the relentless, impersonal Machine - then we need to meet, and discuss, and plan, and set new local processes in motion – and that all of this takes time. So our first necessity is to reclaim our time...
YOU SUPPORT ME, I´LL SUPPORT YOU: TIME PACTS
So let´s get practical... If you have read this far you probably agree with my analysis, and not only agree in principal that we need to reclaim our time – but want to reclaim your time! So the question is how...
I want to suggest making a Time Pact with one other person (or maybe a few others) who feel the same – partners, friends, or family members who also want to reclaim their time. And by a “Time Pact” I mean an agreement to help each other recognise your current time usage – and make specific changes that will give you both/all relief from the pressure of modern, high-voltage living – changes that will allow you more down time, more space for relaxation and contemplation – and give you both/all a sense of togetherness, and a feeling of mutual support.
I´m not going to talk here about co-creating local, conscious communities. If that´s what you really want to help create – then you´ll use some of your new, reclaimed time for that. I just want to talk about the reclaiming. What could be more precious to us than our time?! Our time is our life! It is the years, weeks, hours and minutes of our lives. And dear reader and friend – I am seventy years old now – and my experience, like that of so many others, is that it passes astonishingly quickly – and that once it´s gone, you can´t get it back! So what could be more important than choosing how we use our time?!
THE SACRIFICE OF COMFORT AND INDEPENDENCE
However, before we discuss the details of Time Pacts, we need to be aware: there will be consequences! If we want our time back, then we´re going to have to make some sacrifices...
The guiding principles of a Time Pact are (1) simplify, and (2) share. Each person is asked “how can you reclaim your time (1) by simplifying, and (2) by sharing. So we need to be aware of what simplification and sharing will imply – and be sure that´s what we choose.
Simplification means stripping away, and letting go, all we consider excessive – which is a very personal evaluation. But the general direction is clear. Our basic needs are ultimately very simple. They are:
Existential – meaning (beliefs, purpose, etc.)
Emotional – connection (love, companionship, sex, etc.)
Physical – survival (food/water, warmth/clothing/shelter, etc.)
Some people will be more austere, others more sensual – but the direction is clear... We have sold ourselves to The Machine in exchange for comfort and (apparent) security. And if we want to reclaim our time we are going to have to break that agreement – and renounce comfort, convenience, fashion, luxury - at least to some extent. Is that what we choose?
Secondly, there´s the principle of sharing. Almost everywhere in the world The Machine thrives on individualism. In every block of apartments every apartment has to have its own washing machine – most of which are not in use most of the time. Every household has to have its own car, or cars - most of which are parked most of the time. And, of course, every single individual has to have their own laptop and mobile phone...
How much time could we save if we didn´t all work to all have everything of our own? How much time would we reclaim if we shared washing machines and cars, for example? And what if we shared the shopping (and took it in turns to shop for each other)? And what if households took it in turn to cook for each other (and each family only had to cook once or twice a week)? What if we took it in turns to look after each other´s children?
Obviously, there are enormous amounts of time to be reclaimed by sharing. But just as simplification means a degree of sacrifice of our comforts, sharing means a degree of sacrifice of our independence. Sharing means cooperating, it means making agreements, and being there for each other – it means not being able to do whatever we like, whenever we like. It means exchanging independence for inter-dependence. So again, we have to be clear that if we want to reclaim our time – sacrifices will need to be made. It´s easy to say “I´d love to work towards establishing local community, but I have no time!” But are we willing to make the sacrifices needed in order to have time?
And at a deeper level: do we really want to have time – to slow down – and be present, and feel the uncertainty of being alive, and feel all of ups and downs of our emotions? It´s easy to say the words “oh, if only I had the time!” But perhaps we like having no time! Perhaps we like being too busy to stop, and feel the moment, and face ourselves, and feel the emptiness that might be there, or the pain.
These are very real considerations to be taken into account before entering a Time Pact. Because a Time Pact will not only change the structure of our lives, it will change the quality of our lives.
THE STRUCTURE OF A TIME PACT
So here´s what a Time Pact looks like...
We make a pact to support each other in reclaiming our time. This can be a pact between two people, or between a small group.
We agree a timeframe for the pact. We begin, for example, with three months. And we agree that at the end of these three months we´ll end, renew or adjust our pact.
We agree to meet and talk once a week – either online, or in person.
When each person talks they address the question “how can I reclaim my time (a) by simplifying, and (b) by sharing?” They make specific decisions and commitments, and set timeframes for their completion. If these are longterm commitments (like moving house, for example, or learning a new skill) then they set “markers” so that their progress can be evaluated.
The pact is both about being consistent with our own commitments - and about gently but firmly reminding others of their commitments.
There is nothing spectacularly innovative in this structure. But by looking in detail at our actual time usage, and at our actual expenditure, and following the principles of “simplify” and “share”, and talking regularly, and letting ourselves by held by the pact itself – our everyday lives will be transformed.
And yes – not only will we find we now have the time to co-create deep and intimate local community – but (especially if the pact was between a small group of friends) we´ll find we have already become the seed of a small community!
*
Mark Josephs,
"Mark the Mystic Activist",
Aragon, Spain,
Spring 2025
Mark guides The Conscious Tribes Project.
His articles, stories and poems attempt to convey not only the concept of Conscious Tribes, but the feeling behind them.
CONSCIOUS TRIBES
Seeds of New Local Communities
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