presence

“All things in due time.”, ” There is a time and a place for everything.”,  “Time heels all wounds.”, each of these parables has roots in a phenomena that can be described simply as distance over speed. Time is nothing without motion and coincidence is the fulcrum of time itself.  Whether two ships passing in the night or the hands of a clock there are special moments that signal great shifts to us in history. Every time we pass around the sun we celebrate. Our age is of great importance to us.

Each of these instances carry significance because we know they are fleeting. It is the ever shifting nature of time that informs our wishes and desires. As we move in and out of states of hunger and curiosity we find that time itself speeds up and slows down as we experience it. Our heart rate beats at faster and slower rates, this biological time keeper assists in our navigation of the world.

When we think of living in the present we must consider that we are obligated not only to the moment at hand but the ones to follow as well. Each of us makes predictions about what is to come in the seconds and minutes after the current one that passes. Our infatuation with the future causes us anxiety and fear, but also allows us to fantasize about what could be. Our plans would be fruitless without some attempt at foresight. This foresight comes from out keen ability to recognize patterns. These patterns, and cycles reveal trends.

Our weather comes in seasons, the seasons bring rain and sun, this allows us to have agriculture, and agriculture is one of the fundamental pillars of our society. It does us little good to behave as if it will rain tomorrow if our expectation is that it will not. We must operate with some sense of focus on what is most pertinent to our benefit. If we do not we run the risk of loosing out on opportunities that are time sensitive.

Both the hunter and the gather must bow to time. Whether it is managing patience to strike prey or knowing what fruit is in a period of ripeness. These windows of time govern nearly all elements of our lives and we will seek to peel away our own perspectives to peer into a space where some universal truths may lie. If we are lucky we may stumble upon wisdoms that are not bound by time at all.