Sunday, March 16, 2008

Tempus Volat Hora Fugit


A belfry in Ghent, Belgium


From the moment we enter this life we are in the flow of it.
We measure it and we mock it, but we cannot defy it.

We cannot even speed it up or slow it down. Or can we?

Have we not each
experienced the sensation that
a beautiful moment
seemed to pass to quickly,
and wished that we could make it linger?

Or felt time slow on a dull day,
and wished that we could speed things up a bit?
-Edward Norton as Eisenheim
in The Illusionist (2006)

How easier life would be if only TIME would do our bidding! But alas, like gravity, time is something beyond our control. Of course, we can create artificial environments where such factors can be manipulated. However, I believe that kind of life is not life at all. Some people may prefer to live in a fabricated world: who wouldn’t when things go the way you expect them to be? when you can dictate the circumstances according to your liking? when you can slow down or speed up time at your command? Still, I don’t think a person will take root, grow and fully use his potentials in such situations. You can only shape glasses and metals into intricate and exquisite objects when they are subjected to high temperatures. And I believe this can also be said of us.

Although time seems to be an adversary, especially in this fast-paced world we live in: where 24 hours is not enough for an ordinary day, where there are too many things to do in so much little time, where everyone tries to get ahead of the next person to him… it can turn out to be our guide in navigating life. Many of our life experiences have taught us that a number of beautiful moments, meaningful events, momentous occasions pass too quickly. They are gone too fast too soon. Hence, we become more aware of the fact that each second counts... that we SHOULD make each moment count.



I believe in order to do so, to be able to grasp and make room for such significant moments, we have to discern what is important for us. Sometimes, we get too caught up with going after what the rest of the world wants when at the end of it, it doesn’t make us happy. We lost precious moments in achieving something we don’t really need. We have to take a moment and identify what is it that would make us complete. Time is not a commodity we can afford to waste. And to correctly identify our fundamental priorities we must first know our selves: what we want, what would make us happy. We should go after them because that is what we truly desire and not because it is what others think we should have.

And I think it is also important is to respect our own rhythm. One should not act, move, get ahead in life for the mere thought that we should be in sync with the rest of the world because that is what they EXPECT us to do. I believe that by respecting our own beat, our own tempo, we are on the track of being able to fully master our present and future, our own lives. Perhaps, by doing so, TIME will not flee from us but rather walk with us.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said,Lareine.I agree with you.There so much of this racing with time that a lot of us, forget to take its value.A mere pause would have been more valuable that running through it,because we then see how or where we intend to go,rather than following someone trials.

lareine said...

maya, i'm glad to have someone like you who appreciates my soliloquies :) *hugs*

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