The Time of our Lives

What is time? Is it like a living tree that we can see, touch, nurture, and actually experience in a tangible way? Where is time? Can we actually go to a store of spent time and say “here is that time” and interact with it, like taking a book out of a library? If we could do these things with time, how would it change our relationship with it?

Honestly, I think we humans take time for granted. It’s just something that happens, with or without us, and most of us couldn’t be bothered to consciously pay any attention to it. We’re in it without understanding our impact on it, and even its impact on us.
 
We only become conscious of time when we wish we could direct it (the future) or change it (the past). In my opinion this is sad: our awareness of time becomes nothing more than a flurry of wishes and regrets. Wishing for a better, brighter future or past is unrealistic – wishes are nothing but empty fantasies. If we want a better future and past, we have to stop wishing and, instead, move towards acting. Conscious, deliberate action by us is what brings about change. Wishing for change is futile.

The most important thing to understand here is that action happens now – in the present. In truth, we cannot take action in the future (it has not arrived yet, and may never arrive), and we certainly cannot go back to the past and take action there (it has passed and will never “replay” itself). This very moment we are in right now is where action happens – it’s all we have to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.

So, coming back to the question: what is time? We could say that time is a measure of moments (in seconds) as they pass from the future into the past. One day is a measure of moments as they pass through a period of 86,400 seconds (or 24 hours).

Moments pass from the future (plans; dreams) to the past (memories). But they pass through something called the present. Moments only become reality in the present – in this moment we are living right now. The plans and dreams we have of our future (if we have them) become real in this moment right now.

If I dream of a future where I will have a million dollars in my bank account, what am I doing in this moment right now to make that happen? The dream of a future with one million dollars in my bank account is actually a desire to have a present moment where one million dollars is really in my bank account. The future desire is not real; it is but a mere dream or, at best, a “statement of intent”. If I do nothing in my present to realise the dreams I imagine in my future I will never be able to recall my past as a record of how my future dreams became a reality. Once again, the key to realising the future and making good memories for my past is this moment I am in right now – the present.

Time is a false construct. The future is not real; the past is not tangible and cannot be changed and therefore, technically, it is not real. Only the present is real, BUT it is only real if I am consciously active in it. If I am unconscious of my present, because I am distracted (by social media or other time-burners) or I am asleep (actually physically sleeping), the present passes me – it slips from future to past, and I have no recollection of that transition. When I try to recall what I did with the time that slipped by me I can only say that I was distracted or asleep, but I cannot actually say what I did with each second of that time. It is lost to me.

Coming back to the question: what is time? It is the period between my birth and my death on this earth, filled – or measured – with the actions I took and results I gained in my present during that period. My time is “full” (or “fulfilled”) if I can recall the conscious actions I took to bring positive outcomes to me and those around me. My life has purpose through my conscious actions; my life has purpose if the dreams I have of my future are realised in my present, and my present can be remembered in my past.


Image: Entrance, Disneyland Paris, France. Copyright - Michael Beaton

NOTE: I chose this picture because of the time theme. I also chose it because of Mickey Mouse, in the sense that when people do not take something seriously, they call it a "Mickey Mouse" thing or concept. The entire notion of time, while complex in philosophy, is essentially a "Mickey Mouse" concept - it's not real; it's fabricated to maintain control over humans and their lives which, unless fulfilled with purposeful action, are devoid of any meaning at all.   

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