The concept of time
Vishavjeet Chaudhary
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice asks the White Rabbit, ‘How long is forever?’ He responds, in a typical literary style, 'Sometimes, just one second.' Time is indeed a strange concept. One that has caught the fancy of men and women from all walks of life. It has, for millennia, baffled scientists, poets, philosophers, writers and so many more alike.
One thing, however, even for this elusive concept stands settled. As the old saying goes, tide and time wait for none. This, along with our general understanding of time, has led to a somewhat agreed opinion on time. For better or for worse we are conditioned to seeing time as a linear concept. It is so often to see time imagined as a straight line, as a timeline -- one with benchmarks, milestones, stops, beginnings and ends.
We think that there are 'phases' on this linear plane — waiting, sometimes for them to start and sometimes to stop. 'This too shall pass', we tell ourselves and advise others, waiting for the next phase to begin. This approach certainly has its upsides. One of them is the comfort that bad times won’t last forever and the sobering thought that good times won't either. As Kipling said, ‘Treat the impostors just the same.’ And passage of time as a linear concept certainly provides that luxury!
Whilst sitting on a beach one afternoon in North of Italy, I was however provoked to a different approach. It was a warm, sunny afternoon and in spite of the constant sound of waves crashing against sand and pebbles, inexplicably quiet. I observed tides hit the shore and retreat, and thought of the relationship between tides and time. Each time a foamy wave hit the beach, it was a delight to see the water roll into it everything the previous wave had left behind. The action was gentle yet determined — repeated endlessly, dutifully. I was reminded of Rushdie's protagonist in ‘Midnight’s Children'. As humans, we are products of everything that has been before us. Rather than a straight line, perhaps it made more sense to think of time as an engulfing, embracing and encapsulating everything there was, only to be engulfed by an even bigger embrace?
Time and tide, as said before, wait for none. But perhaps, just perhaps, it would make more sense to think of time as tide. A tide that reassuringly engulfs all there is in any given moment. And as a tide, the aim should be to collect everything that there is — in that moment. To live in the moment and to enjoy the small things in life.
Perhaps it is time to take a deep breath, live in and absorb the moment. To enjoy the sensation of sand gently rubbing against the skin of your feet. To appreciate the tiny, diamond-like drops of dew, so meticulously placed on emerald green blades of grass — meticulous yet with an avant-garde carelessness; cherish the joyful chirping of birds, the incredible warmth of the sun, the unrivalled coolness of shade on a hot, dreary afternoon, feel the confident aroma of earth, sense the studied perfection of leaves, marvel at the fascinating precision of snow-flakes and the incredible landscaping of dunes. To cherish the wholeness of an embrace, the tenderness of a touch, the reaffirmation of a handshake and the warmth of a smile. For once, look around and notice — absorb and assimilate — for time and tide indeed wait for none, but it is within this strict constraint that moments are made and, to borrow from Keats, a thing of beauty brings joy forever.
