Time Isn't Real

I love efficiency. I love momentum. I love building. But I also live in Bali, where time barely exists in the way we think about it in the West. And that contradiction messes with me — in a good way.

There’s a concept here called *jam karet*. “Rubber time.” Things stretch. Nothing is fixed. Plans shift. Life still happens — just not on a strict schedule. At first, it frustrated me. Then it made me curious.

Back home, everything is structured around time. Calendars. Clocks. Deadlines. We treat time like it’s this objective force — like gravity — instead of what it actually is: a human invention. A mental framework. A system we made up to organize change.

But somewhere along the way, the system started running us.

You can see it in the guilt people feel for not “achieving enough” by 30. Or the urgency we create to sell things faster: “Only 24 hours left!” “Time is running out!” We’re constantly rushing — even when there’s nowhere urgent to be.

And I’m not above it. I’ll sit in a rice field, watch the sun move slowly, breathe deep — and still stress about being ten minutes late to meet a friend. Even if the friend doesn’t care. Even if there’s no reason to rush. Even if I *know* better. That’s the Western script running in the background: optimize everything, hurry up, do more, be on time, build faster.

But that script comes with a cost.

It makes people treat life like a race. It squeezes joy out of the process. It replaces rhythm with rigidity. It disconnects us from seasons, moods, and flow. And worst of all, it rewards the people who look busy — not the ones who are actually doing something meaningful.

Here’s the paradox: I love structure. I hit my deadlines. I build systems. But I also believe the best work doesn’t happen on a timer. You don’t get to great ideas by brute-forcing the clock. You get there by being present, by going deep, by giving things space to evolve.

So I’m trying to live in both worlds. Structure *and* spaciousness. Speed *and* stillness. Because I don’t think the Western system is evil. But I also don’t think the white spiritual influencers in flowy pants have it all figured out either.

I just know that *jam karet* has taught me something: life isn’t supposed to be squeezed into fixed slots on a calendar. You can work hard and still respect your energy. You can move fast without rushing blindly. You can slow down and still get shit done.

I'm not great at it. I'm a walking paradox. But I’m learning.

And maybe that’s the real question:

What would life look like if you weren’t always racing the clock?