I posted this a year ago. Last June an extra second was added to 2015. I’m curious what you did with your extra second. Also, why not treat every second as if it’s our extra leap second?
Contrary to what the Rolling Stones think, time is not on your side. It’s not on your side, or my side, or anyone’s side. Time is just time. It’s not anything else. It can neither be created nor destroyed. It just marches forward, unrelenting. The problem with time is that it runs out. With just about everything else in life, by hook or by crook, you can always get more. Not time though. That’s why 2015 is special.
Why is 2015 special you ask? We get more time. Not a lot, but we get more. One second more in fact. Due to the imperceptible slowing of the Earth’s rotation, which may be caused by things like earthquakes, tidal drag, and other weather events, the science guys figured out that the atomic clock is out of sync with the solar day by a second. To correct that, this year on June 30th at 11:59:59 an extra second will be added. The atomic clock will change from 11:59:59 to the time of 11:59:60 before then going to 12:00:00.
This year is a second longer than most. We get more time. A gift. So what will you do with your extra time? Some of you may be saying, “But Phil,” (I love when you say my name),”what can I possibly do in an extra second? That’s not enough time for anything!” Well, for starters you can probably say Phil in one second. If you all did it at once, at that extra second before midnight on June 30th, that would totally make my day. If however you want to spend that extra second on yourself or someone else here are some things you can do:
– Maintain eye contact with someone you love just a little bit longer
– Smile at someone who needs it
– Take a deep breath and remind yourself how lucky you are to still be doing that
– Laugh a little longer at a joke that lifts your spirits
– Touch someone. Just one finger laid lightly on another. Make that magical connection for a second or a second longer.
– Floss another tooth. People who floss their teeth regularly live three to five years longer than those who don’t. That’s a whole lot of extra seconds.
– Jump. Just one jump. Throw your body briefly into the air. For a second feel the joy you did as a kid when you jumped for no reason at all. If you’re lucky there will come a day when you haven’t run out of seconds but your legs will have run out of jumps. Make sure you take that extra one when you can.
One second doesn’t seem like much, but it is truly infinite. Over the course of your lifetime there have been a million thoughts, decisions or actions that have occurred in the blink of an eye, in the span of a second that have changed your life for better or for worse. This year you get one extra second, one extra thought, one extra decision, one extra move you make. What’s it going to be?
As always, if you have one extra second right now and you enjoyed #ThePhilFactor please share it by hitting the Facebook, Twitter, or re-blog button below. Have a great Saturday. See you June 30th at 11:59:60! ~Phil
My extra second
Was not a waste-that’s for sure
I microwaved my dinner
For one second more
I chose, instead of saying your name (pls forgive me), or loving anyone ( >:( ) , to be selfish, per one of your suggestions, Phil–thanks for including an option for misanthropes!! 👍🏽–and laugh at a favorite joke a little more. One of mine is a stupid crude one that never fails to make me smile: The Tapeworm Joke. I’m sure you know it. So cute. That plaintive voice at the end… (“The end”… Ha ha ha!!)
Wonderful post.
I don’t know the tapeworm joke. What is it?
I don’t know if it works written. You really have to hear it. Here goes (your opinion of me may be forever lowered–I have the mind of a child):
A guy is dropping lots of weight and feeling terrible. A doctor examines him and informs him that he has a tapeworm. He’s to come back the next day with an apple and a cookie.
“What?!”
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
The next day he comes back with the items requested. The doctor tells him to lower his pants and bend over. The guy reluctantly complies, and the doctor proceeds to shove the apple and cookie up his ***.
The doctor says to come back the next day with a pear and a cookie.
As before, the doctor shoves the food up the guy’s ***. Then he tells him to come back the next day with a peach and a cookie.
Same deal: Up his *** they go.
The guy’s had enough:
“Doc, how much longer does this have to go on?”
The doctor replies,
“Until tomorrow. This time, bring a banana and a hammer.”
So the guy comes back the next day with a banana and a hammer.
Up goes the banana.
A minute passes. Then, the tapeworm sticks his head out and asks:
“Hey–Where’s my cookie?”
WHOMP!!
I think I have heard that before.
Guess it didn’t make the same impression on you. You must not like fruit as much.
I sneezed my second away. Good post.
Aww. Great post. Made me smile. Now, where did I put my floss?