By Arthur Leggett
My last writing ignited my curiosity on exploring the fourth dimension of the universe: Time. Almost everyone knows that Einstein proved that “time is relative,“ only some non-scientists know that Einstein concluded, later in his life, that “for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.”
When I first learned this watershed notion in Modernity class at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, I got a migraine headache just thinking about the time paradox. I left class that day thinking – I don’t get this. I don’t want to get too deep here, so let’s leave the debate about the fabric of time to physicists.
I believe that time is hard to define. Although we clearly see the effects of time as our bodies age gracefully and as children grow yearly, we cannot see, touch, feel, smell or hear time. Too often time is equated with money, but time is much more than money. Time is the most precious and irreplaceable commodity in the world.
To borrow from a memorable description of lost time by Denis Waitley, “with each passing day, we lose—one twenty-four hour, twenty-four carat, golden day, each hour studded with sixty diamond minutes, each minute studded with sixty ruby seconds. But don’t bother to look for it, it’s gone forever—that wonderful, golden day, I lost today”
Often when we deal with a lengthy illness or suffer the loss of a loved one, we lament the passing of time. Faced with the mortality of humanness, we cry not for more degrees, titles, money, cars or homes--the edifice complex--but we desperately pray for just a little more time. Yet many who will plead the loudest, thought nothing of squandering time in absolute idleness yesterday or today.
In general, we make time for what we choose to in life. It is the way in which we use precious moments that tell what we really value. How much of your time is spent plugged into a television screen?
Did you know that the average American watches over 28 hours of television per week? That’s around 2 months of mindless television per year. What if you live to be 65 years old? That’s 9 years of your life wasted on addictive nonsense. What’s the benefit?
The truth is that we all have the same amount of time available to us each week, whether you are rich or poor. We are all gifted with 168 hours, 10,080 minutes or 604,800 seconds per week.
How much of this time do you enjoy with your inner circle or exploring the beauty of Nature, museums, architecture or music? How many kids do you mentor? How many forgotten mentors have you called to say, Thank You? And, very importantly, how many sunrises and sunsets have you seen? In the pursuit of a life of material excess, too many forget to measure time by the lives they touch in this world.
Live every moment as if it is your last, for you never know when God will reach down in his “garden of life” and prune an undesired weed or pick a promising rosebud.
If anyone wants to grapple with Einstein’s time concepts, I highly recommend reading Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time by Peter Galison.
Last, I'm always open to connecting with kindred spirits and to imbibing disparate ideas. If you are close by, let's meet up for coffee or tea, swap stories, and share common interests. If you're around the world, we can be pen pals. Feel free to drop me an email. I respond to all emails within 36 hours.
Or maybe you found something "wrong" or "misspelled" on my blog? Or perhaps you have a suggestion or question? Tell me I'm wrong. Or tell me I'm right.
Thank you for reading my thoughts.
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