Understanding Our Relationship With Time
Keeping track of our time has never been easier. A watch or clock costs less than ten dollars, although many use their phone to keep track of time. It’s challenging to describe time because we label events and activities in terms of time. Time waits for no one. Wait a minute, take the 12:00 pm bus, and meet me after lunchtime. I don’t want to waste my time; make me a three-minute egg.
A curious fact about time is that we don’t understand time itself. People believe that, given enough time, anything can happen, and without time, nothing can. People think that the Sun moves across the sky. Some think traveling at nearly the speed of light will make them younger, and that normal time makes them older. This kind of thinking is widespread.
This article explores a simple but radical idea: time is not a thing that flows or acts on us. Time is a measurement of motion, interpreted by our minds. We think time started with the universe, and if time didn’t exist, the universe couldn’t exist. What if time were to stop?…
What on Earth is Time?
A dictionary definition is that time is the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or movement exists or continues to exist. How do we measure time events? For example, we use clocks to measure how long to boil an egg, but what do we really know about time itself?
Well, when I wake up, I want to know the time. Why? Because I like to know how long I slept and if I should get out of bed immediately. Why? If it’s the weekend, I don’t have to go to work or school. I can relax and take my time getting out of bed. It’s wonderful just to enjoy a moment of silence.
However, if I wake up late, miss my bus, and rush to work or school, it’s stressful. What’s the difference in time between a relaxing and a stressful time? Does time affect emotions? What’s our relationship with time? The beating heart has a rhythm that shifts with what we are experiencing…
The Concept of Time
We see the clock’s numbers moving, so we say time moves, but it’s the clock that moves. We see the Sun move across the sky. However, it’s the Earth that’s moving. Time is a measure of Earth’s motion, and the concept of time is simple…
Historically, clocks were designed to tick at the same speed as the Earth rotates, namely 86,400 ticks per day, which were divided into hours, minutes, and seconds. We use time to describe the events and duration of activities we experience. However, Time has nothing to do with the forces that cause events or the energy that beats your heart. Time is our experience of motion.
Time is What a Clock Shows
A time interval is a measurement of a motion interval. A clock counts each tick as a second of time, and we label the description of the force moving the Earth as time. We use clocks to count how long to cook food, how long to sleep, how fast we travel, and how far we drive.
We take shortcuts to describe events by using time. If we are talking about an event, we label it with time. For example, the 100 metre race, the day President Kennedy was shot, and don’t forget the 911 event. When we use a label, it skips the event’s description, and a calendar labels Historical events.
In ancient times, the motion of the Sun across the sky gave people the time of day and the month of the year. You see, time is a description of events. But time doesn’t exist as a standalone thing; time exists with the motion of the universe. A clock counts seconds and displays numbers, and we have been taught how to convert those numbers into time. So, to know the time, we need to use our minds, which has increased our relationship with time.
The Concept of Time
Time feels like a powerful force, but what is a clock actually measuring? Time consists of two parts. The illusion of time comes from our awareness of being alive, breathing, thinking, and feeling sensations. The physical motion of time is the movement of flowers in the wind, birds flying, and waves on the water. The motion we witness is the physical experience of time, and our awareness of time passing is the abstract part.
The invention of clocks brings together the physical motion and our awareness of motion into the concept of time. We use clocks to measure everything in terms of time, so we cannot live without time.
However, Time doesn’t control our lives; our minds do. Clocks do not make things happen; they only count seconds. When we use a measurement as a force, we give time an authority it does not possess. Understanding this may be the first step toward understanding our relationship with time. Imagine if time is a measurement of motion, what is actually moving?…
Namaste, from “Science in Your Life” at LovinThings.com.