My 24 year old son wrote this. He gave me permission to put it on here. He wanted to see how other people thought about this.
Time troubles me. I am bothered by almost every aspect of it, yet I see no plausible ways of combatting or even alleviating somewhat the distress it causes me. Perhaps I feel this way towards time because I do not understand it. Is a concept such as this possible to understand? As I write this, I feel like a positive answer to that question simply does not exist, and as I write more I begin to question existance, that is my own existance, and what role it will play for this fiend I know as time. The past is obviously real. Memories, sweet, precious memories can attest to that, but what if our minds fail us? What proof do we have?
Photographs, Artifacts, and stories from people, who unbeknownst to us, may be suffering through the same intense dillema that I myself find so fascinating. What if their minds fail? What if they already have? Are these artifacts that prove the past existed still relevant? They came from somewhere, obviously, to exist, but what are these things to us, if nobody can convey to us their significance or even what they are?
How is it that time can pass by so quickly one day and drag by so slowly the next? Is this a matter of perception? Or is time toying with us, forcing us to bask in our own turmoil for far too long while it limits our joyful experiences to what feels like seconds in the grand scope of things?
If this were a simple matter of perception, I feel that we could grasp the concept enough to make good moments last longer and unpleasant ones disappear quickly. But what happens is quite the opposite, so I am forced to believe the latter scenario, the seemingly more ridiculous scenario in which time is a being itself, controlling our moments and memories like an author controls that of his or her characters.
Does that mean that time is in fact God? Does this even make sense? A shiver runs down my spine as I entertain the possibility that it does.
Those who believe in God say that God is all around us, an omnipresent force capable of astonishing things. Is the same not true for time? But I can't help but think that if this were the case, if God were time, and did in fact exist, what would be the point in writing this? When I finish writing, this becomes the past and the only proof I have that these moments ever occured are my memories and this paper.
But if my mind fails me and this note is lost did this moment really ever exist? Did I?
Written by: Stephen Hetblack Friday Sept 12, 2008 ending at 4:08 am.
Do not copy without his permission.
I have read this many times. It makes a lot of sense to me. It also makes you really think about the concept of time and our existance.
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Comments: 7
With regard to the topic, the way to not obcess about time is to focus on the present. A rather trite but full of truth saying I have come across says, "The past is history, the future mystery, the present moment is all we truly own."
We remember and learn from history - people and their words and works - so that we can value and use better the present moment.
We hope for the future but cannot control or direct it - it is dependent on our use of the present moment.
The present moment, the only thing we truly have, should be the focus of our energy and emotions. We must live the present moment the best we possibly can - that is our only task and should be our only goal in this life. All else is a waste of our being.
In the paragraph that begins, "If this were a simple matter of perception" it seems to me there is an underlying assumption that you can manipulate your perceptions. More likely the opposite is true: Perceptions (sensory input to the brain) determine what we do and think.
As far as I can understand it has become extremely useful to regard time as one of the dimensions of the universe. But we haven't learned how to manipulate it. Time is not God; time is a creation of God. What does it mean to say God is "outside" of time, that it is just another artifact to God? Maybe at this point we are pushing beyond the capabilities of a limited human brain.
This also reminded me of the 60’s……LOL A lot of young people were contemplating time and life during that era.