Time: A history of Misunderstanding.

Time as a scientific concept has truly only existed since the Renaissance. Galileo (c.1540) was the first to accurately record time in order to calculate the force of the earth's gravitational pull on a falling stone. Since then, time has been seen as a universal constant, something that will exist indefinitely. In the modern, westernized, perspective, we measure our own lifespan against this infinite value. One finds that we will always come up short. For many in our society, this is disconcerting; from a psychological standpoint, it could be argued that one of our primary motivations in life is the fear of death. 

The concept of time in relation to money developed around the period of the industrial revolution. Farmers moved en masse to the cities, and were paid by the hour to increase mechanical productivity at the cost of their physical health. They were paid well below what anyone could call a subsistent standard of living. They began working for more than 15 hours a day. This is in stark contrast to the lifestyles of the Hunter-gathering peoples, whose short periods of high intensity work strike us as uncivilized. No, we the "civilized" people would much prefer to work ourselves to death. The phrase "time is money", is a misnomer. Work is money. People think that working longer, while being paid at an hourly rate, results in more money. This is simply an exploitation of an unfair system. In the early industrial age, people's life expectancies were so short that money became more important than lifespan, as it assured an immediate improvement in the standard of living. 

Time is only a gift to those that are willing to appreciate it. We measure it, trade it, sell it, alter it. We treat time as a resource that we can control. The Hunter-Gathers see time as a privilege, a blessing. They value time far more than our materialistic civilization. Time truly is priceless. And no, they wont take your mastercard.