I'll say it clearly: I want a time change. I say this with the calmness of someone who knows perfectly well that their opinion won't change anything, that no ordinary minister will be heading to Brussels for me to speak out, but I'm aware that, nevertheless, the sum of these small, useless declarations is precisely what gives joy to democratic life. We're here to debate everything, even what the EU will ultimately decide for us.
Since Pedro Sánchez announced that he wants to take the proposal to end time change to Europe starting in 2026, more passions have been aroused than a Barça-Madrid final: change yes, change no, winter time, summer time. Some scientists say that changing it affects us mentally. Others say not so much. And between one thing and another, most of us only know that for two or three days our mood gets a little off, that when we yawn we don't know if we're hungry or sleepy or both at the same time, and then our body adjusts as if nothing had happened. But here's the rub: if the change disorients us, what will happen to us when everything is always the same? Don't we know ourselves? Will the monotony depress us? There are always reasons for trauma.
I'll confess one apprehension: if the clocks aren't changed and daylight saving time ends up being imposed as it seems, it will end up getting dark earlier. And, as a friend said as she left work when it was already dark: "Where are you going to be seen?" Besides, those who aren't early risers will face a perpetual solar sentence. Every day, the sun will greet them before they're ready for any greeting. And another thing: what will we do with the magical moment when, towards spring, the afternoon suddenly lengthens and many feel that life is improving? And what will happen to those who celebrate with the same joy the return to winter time because it heralds a drop in the heat? With the single time, these ritual pleasures will disappear. It's true that they are frivolous rituals, but if there's no more energy expenditure, leave us with these seasonal joys.
And yes, we could talk about energy savings, but here too there are studies for all tastes. If there are no significant differences, as they say, I wonder if a small emotional roller coaster or eternal monotony is better. We change the time when the day starts later, and we change it again when it's clearer. It's an imperfect system, yes, like ourselves. Perhaps what really bothers us isn't the time change, but changing ourselves. And faced with the impossibility of making major revolutions, we cling to that small adjustment of the clock like someone moving the dining room furniture to feel it evolving. There are also those who never move the furniture at all.
As for me, what can I say? I like this dance of spring and autumn. I'm used to it. I like getting a little lost in the calendar and finding myself again two or three days later. I like having reasons to complain about the time change, but also to celebrate it. And if Europe finally decides to impose the single time, I'll have to accept it. But I will do so with the inalienable right to whisper about it all my life or to radically change the opinion you just wrote.
