by Milton Johanides

Created on: January 02, 2011

Time is a function of our spatial and temporary earth existence. Because the way God made us includes a linear progression from birth to death with an infinite number of consecutive events in between, we sense the passing of time, the way one senses the passing of landscape from a moving train. Landscape does not move, but the landscape passes relative to our position on the moving train. Time is the currency of that sense of passing events, of day following on from day.  So in one sense it is an illusion of the human brain, since it cannot be bottled and examined, but is only a by-product of our actions.

Einstein´s work on time and relativity shows that time is not an absolute, operating independently of all other factors, but a quality that varies depending on speed and distance. In God´s sphere, which by definition must be eternal without beginning and without end, time has no meaning, or at least we can say it has "slowed down" to the point where it is barely noticeable. Time therefore is not measured on a fixed and permanent scale, but on a slide rule of variables which can alter depending on the status quo.

Certainly, man has always been intent on measuring time. The most obvious signals of passing (and recurring time) are the seasons, the lunar and solar cycles, which are a consequence of the motion of the earth. Man also ages. The visible signs of maturity and senescence are clear and the question of making age comparisons between different members of a tribe would have been essential to the ancient psyche, useful for determining seniority within a group or for assessing the amount of time left in a person´s life. So early attempts at measuring time were also attempts at trying to understand the human condition better, coming to grips with the frequent and often awesome changes that occurred all around. Mortality adds an emotional edge to the measuring of time since time passing signals approaching death. The cycle of the seasons gives hope that men too, like plants, can look forward to a rebirth, albeit in some unseen spiritual dimension.

The invention of mechanical clocks made time a more permanent fixture in people´s lives, and the intricate and accurate digital timepieces of today mean that we can measure anything to the nth degree without effort. The popular modern phrase "time is money" indicates how closely our economy is tied to good timekeeping practices. Industrial production is highly monitored, with lapses in productivity punishable by hefty penalties and reduced profits. Instead of being mere observers of time, we are now ruled by it. We have forgotten that time is illusory and have made it king.

Can we deduce from this that, if we wanted to, we could make time go away? There is an argument which suggests that modern stress levels are linked to an obsession with deadlines. Christmas and other festivals are an annual race to achieve countless goals by a certain date. We judge each other´s suitability for work or marriage by our age. So the illusion of time has been turned into a measure of worth, which most of us would be happier without. But while making time go away is impossible, anymore than you can change the way you look by not looking into mirrors, we can certainly aim for a future that is less reliant on time. By re-learning the basic truth which our ancestors understood, that there need not be a solid link between time and our actions, we can return to a state of sublime innocence where our actions are guided more by the dictates of the heavens than by the ticking of a stopwatch.

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