I’ve always preferred to set my alarms (when I have to set an alarm..) to off numbers. Such as 7:34, or 8:48. I like to say it’s because I don’t think those other numbers get as much appreciation or use, be them not a round :00 or :30.
The other day I was thinking about how we can set these arbitrary timelines for ourselves in life. X by this time of year; Y by a certain age. Or, how there is an idea of a certain weight we “need” or want to be, or amount of money we need to make. Really, I think, all of that’s just as (not) meaningful and arbitrary as setting a certain time on alarm clock.
Especially because, many of these numbers mean—and are!—different things in different places. US dollars aren’t used around the world. Neither are pounds. Average age of birth, marriage, life expectancy, etc. are different in different places.
Time is what we make it; and numbers know no stories.