Words with Elise: "Watch"

Nod to James Hillman for this one.

CAPTION: It’s probably not surprising that “watch” is ascribed to both our e around the passing of time, along with this idea of being “aware.” Thanks to archetypal psychologist James Hillman for pointing this out.

TRANSCRIPT: James Hillman brought me to awareness about this word. We obviously think about a watch as a timepiece, as a way of attaching ourselves to time. The etymology won’t surprise you, it comes from remaining awake, watchfulness, conscious, aware of what’s happening, how time is passing. This is what James Hillman writes in The Soul’s Code: “The electronic gadget on the wrist encloses in a concrete symbol the Western time-bound mind. The word ‘watch’ is cognate with ‘awake’ and ‘aware.’ We do believe that all things move through time, which carries on its river all the world, all the species, and each individual life. So when we look at anything, we see it in time. We even seem to see time itself.” Time is so fascinating. Carissa always says that time is the only thing that actually belongs to human—it’s the horizontal on which we spill out our lives and weave the tapestry of our existence. It doesn’t exist in the vertical. The vertical exists only in the structure of space. It’s heady, but I love that.