When the Clock Stops Ticking

It has been observed that animals like human beings read time and consider it a valuable resource. Time is determined by the changes that happen to us and to our surroundings. Although this is an imprecise definition it must be known that without observable changes to us and the environment, ‘time’ would not have any meaning whatsoever. ‘Time’ in other words thrives on change for its survival to the extent that without understanding ‘change’ we cannot fully comprehend or measure it. If we were to represent ‘time’ we have to spot out the changes that take place along the frames of life. But why do we actually give so much importance to time? Is it to measure ‘change’ or is it because it adds meaning to our lives? Time exists independent of whether we make use of it or not. Change cannot be denied by inaction. To deny would itself involve some change. Therefore time to a greater or lesser extent is undeniable.

Although we are gripped by time we use it as a tool to measure our progress. It has been documented in history that time was measured through nature, and living beings would prepare for a rainy day in a systematic manner as do the ants and birds. It is, as must be quickly noted that just because we have not overcome ‘time’, we cannot be said to have cause to believe that it is ‘all pervasive’. But if we take it that we have clearly not conquered its movement we can at least ensure that it does not cause us a great amount of anxiety to get through with life. The fear of temporariness as caused by time makes us experience a reduced amount of ‘pleasure’. If we listen to music we are scared that the time will pass off quickly thus preventing us from fully relishing the melodies. To the grave extent that it makes us sit on the edge we cannot believe that we have managed time.

The phrase ‘Time Management’ is in my view a misnomer if we do not know what to do when there is not enough time.   We cannot manage time without having a grip of it. We cannot mange it without ever planning in advance. Time as an agent of change does not convey the real essence of the relationship which exists between a human being and nature. As our approach to it is truncated we draw a circle and do not move out of that circle. We are not only able to read time but fit in it and accept it as the ultimate reality that governs us. We have no idea of what it is like when time stops as we have never experienced timelessness. We would need to resort to time to measure it which is self-defeating. In a ‘flow’ experience where we enjoy what we do, we are unaware of the passage of time. In meditation we may experience the impotence of time where we to some extent lose consciousness of it. Only when the mind is not gripped by time can we truly say that we are not harassed by its movement in one direction. This may also explain why we tend to have reduced peripheral vision when we are as anxious to come to grips with the pace of time as we are when the clock stops ticking.   

   

The Minute and the Cosmic

In the grass grows the temptation
Lying by the fire on the other side
Creeping slowly upon the edges of twigs
I find myself floating in heaven
A gentle breeze helps me along
I no longer cling to vacant feelings
Moments blown away by the breeze
Like colorful candles with fading light
I move slowly it appears to me
In another world I could care less about
Then you come along with hopeful cherries
I could try one despite hesitation
Find myself unable to get up
Deprived of the joy of levitation
I relish having lost the world below
It's floors above where I am
Take me along the free runway
The pain of having to stop the world
Seems like a dead illusion to my mind.

The Path Never Taken

The question of choice comes into play only when there is what we may call ‘Will’. To say the least it is invariably taken for granted because to an extent that no one can deny it, freewill exists. We can discuss in length about the role of determinism to subjugate freewill but even this in objective reality at least is an exercise of freewill. Instead of pursuing a circular argument let us open our eyes to the process of ‘becoming’ and ‘doing’. As ‘becoming’ and ‘doing’ are possible only with existence and traceable only to the actions of the doer, the one who does is held accountable for them. But if freewill is itself subject to a form of determinism called predetermined ‘tendency’ then it is negated and the individual cannot be held accountable. As a consequence there is no actor as action assumes significance only when it is recognized as being done by somebody. Choice is possible only when its precursor is singled out as being done by somebody who before chose to do it when he could have done something else. 

However, it is equally important to recognize that actions are not isolated within a framework of limits and as such have their cause traceable to someone outside the ‘doer’. This leads to the question of ‘constructed paths’. It does not follow that individual freewill alone exists.  This does not mean that determinism existed prior to the individual for it could also imply that determinism is the result of ‘one action’. For example; in Chess one move can decide the result of the game. This means that determinism follows freewill in such a context. If we for one moment shift our attention from the one who chooses to the one chosen we may be able to throw more light on the subject in the end. 

But this will not be possible till we understand the path that is less taken or the choice that was never made. In the path less taken the individual makes a decision to not follow the herd instinct. He chooses to take a path less ‘tried out’. He may at some point go through feelings of regret that influence his ability to link the action to himself, ‘the doer’. Choices can be made only when they are available. He could only make a limited set of choices. This mistake is a perspective born out of feelings of regret. If more choices are available it is difficult to predict what the outcome will be. If one chooses to pursue trading as a career option then he could have chosen this either as an initiative or as a reaction.    If he feels happy about his decision because it has given him the much needed stability from the perspective of his career then he has no motivation to associate the decision to opt for trading with some force outside him. This is simply because the decision took off favourably. If the same individual chooses to pursue ‘Visual Communication’ because it sounds unconventional then he may be mistaken as he cannot choose it just because it sounds unconventional. He must have some aptitude for it to make some sense. 

Let us suppose that his actual talent lies in an interdisciplinary subject in the humanities and not in visual communication. But such an interdisciplinary option does not exist. He then feels forced to pursue ‘Visual Communication’ because he has to opt for some unconventional career. He restricts his choices but largely the choices that he can make have to be within the framework. He will not know the fruits of his choice till he pursues it with full rigour. The path less taken has benefits as long as it is an informed choice. If it is made just to be different then the path less taken may not yield favourable results. If on the other hand you have some talent in an unconventional subject then one of the biggest benefits that you could get is a unique identity. The choices that you make first will take you to a framework where there will also always be a limited set of choices only. If you want to break free from all frameworks you need to construct your own path which may well be a path that was never taken. This is psychologically a path of no return.             

On Separation

Birth into a world is like being dropped in a well of differentiation. Unusual as this may seem without this differentiation of the entity there can be no transaction with the world. The other objects are differentiations but this does not mean that they are held together by an invisible chain. What holds objects in the well together is this very differentiation itself. Differentiation creates space as an actuality which is why two beings are held together by the same feeling. Birds from the tree that drop dead because of the heat are separated from life. They do not move out of the well but are finished in it by the hostility which is different in personification from wrath. A being that laughs at death usually is removed from life displaced in the evergreen inactivity of indifference. The hope that joy brings is separated from despair and sorrow.

When you befriend someone then you are united by the thought of insecurity. This insecurity may or may not grow as the friendship grows. Depending on the nature of ‘attachment’ formed this insecurity forms a web that holds the two as objects. The web gets cut off only when the friendship deteriorates to a point when insecurity turns to dust. The only hope out of this possibility of separation is the realization of the possibility of separation as an actuality. This in reality is a supra-virtual fact. Unless it is it is not. The fear of losing a friend will remain as long the two individuals remain friends. This also explains why there is no attempt to become strangers to each other again by undoing the friendship. When friendship is feigned to be undone what remains is the reason for wanting to undo it and therefore in reality this is an impasse. The two shared a space recorded in the memory of objective reality and therefore there is no question of undoing the friendship. The insecurity is lost because the two do not wish to restore communication as friends. The friendship that existed in the past prevents the two from being strangers once again. 

In impulse a friend cannot exist as an informal commitment because it is an impulse. It cannot exist as an impulse as the desire is to commit. This self-contradiction is what causes separation which is the fear of togetherness. The fear of being together fuels separation and the fear of separation nourishes friendship. The impulse has done away with itself to transform the nothingness of a relationship into a value ascribed by human possibility. Making the best out of vacuum is the space that is created for events to happen. To call this vacuum as a precious creation is to undermine the events that happen in it. This causes self-contradiction which consistency and steadfastness use as a fear to sustain themselves. In the blank space there are only particles that you can use and in turn get used to resolve the condition of black-outs. It is only in a black-out that the conflict of separation gets finally resolved.