Exploring the Concept of Time

Quality time versus quantity time

Exploring the concept of time, helps us understand our world and how we should live in it. There are many different ways to look at time. Comparing quality time with quantity time is one way that we can examine the concept of what we refer to as time.

Time is something that we never seem to have enough of, for some strange reason. Then, the time that we do have, has to be split between quality time and quantity time. Somehow, that does not seem fair. Does it have to be split? Maybe not!

Splitting time is like spending time.

If we view time as something like wood for the fireplace, we realize that most of the time, it is better to split wood than not to split it. When it is split, it burns better than when the pieces of wood are too large. It is also easier for a person to carry wood that has been split. Imagine for a moment how difficult it would be to build a fire, if wood could not be split. There would be no need for axes or wood splitters.

Spending time in small portions rather than in large portions, when time is regarded as a commodity like money, is better, too. It is wiser for us not to spend all of our money at once. Unfortunately, there are times when we do have to spend it all, at one time. In reality, we do have to split our money, most of the time.

Look at splitting time into quality time versus quantity time.

"Why does it matter?"

Quality time versus quantity time is an issue that frequently comes up with respect to relationships between parents and children. Parents are advised that if they cannot spend a lot of time with their children, ideally they should make the most of the time that they are able to spend with them.

"What is the difference between quality time and quantity time?" you might ask. "Is there a difference?"

Quality has to do with the essential nature of something and demands a level of excellence. Even now, we do not seem to have any effective quality control measures, when quality time refers to relationships between parents and children.

Quantity refers to an amount or how much time, rather than the degree of excellence assigned to that time. With respect to any specific quantity of time, it would refer to how much time one spends in a relationship and not the quality of the actual relationship itself.

With regard to designating actual amounts of time, it can be specified in terms of seconds, minutes, hours and days. It can be expanded further into weeks, months and years or taken further into decades, generations and centuries. We have many ways of measuring quantity of time.

Splitting quality time further, into good quality time and not-good quality time, is something that can happen, when parents are attempting to spend quality time with their children. Good quality time can turn into not-good quality time. Every parent realizes that sometimes, what he or she intended to be good quality time, turns out exactly the opposite.

Splitting quantity time is done all the time by parents. The quantity of time that parents have with their children has to be divided between a mother and a father, particularly if there is a breakdown in their own relationship. Children may have to spend time with either one parent or the other. Even in normal marital relationships, the time that children have with their parents, can be divided between the parents. One may have to go to work, while the other stays at home with the children.

We don't have perfect answers for everything in our world, including solutions to the problems that occur as a result of splitting time into quality time and quantity time or a further division of quality time, into good quality time versus not-good quality time. We only know that we have time to use as wisely as we possibly can, under whatever circumstances we have, at that particular moment in time.