Time is strange. It promises us something obsolete, and it slips us every time. Time is linear, we have been told. There is past, present and future. But is that what Time really is? Quantum mechanics regards the flow of time as universal and absolute, whereas General theory of relativity regards time as malleable and relative. Albert Einstein once wrote: People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. Most of us believe Quantum definition of time is beyond our scope, and get through the day as if we are chasing time or to put it another way, that Time is chasing us down. Is time really an illusion. Believing this would be there is no past, present or future and everything we think, hope for , worry about will prove to be absolutely futile. In practical point of time, We have our clocks and gadgets to remind us of Time. We run behind it and hope to catch it before it hunts us down. Why don’t we see time from a different perspective? The reason people call Time to be an illusion, could be due to that, time cannot be felt, seen, heard or touched. All we have is now. We are so lost in our mind, the constant internal chatter, the day dreams, thoughts, worry, future, and past. We are rarely living our lives and we are rarely living in the now. The past we worry about was once in the present moment, the future moment we are so anxious about passes through the now. We are in the now a.k.a present moment, yet all our thoughts are over there, somewhere out there. Why is it so hard to be present in the now and take life as it comes. Of course, we can learn from the past and be prepared or have a plan for the future. But that doesn't mean that our entire present moment will be lost forever in the span of time. We are rarely in the now. Mostly, the present moment is seen as the means to the end. Waiting for something to arrive, something to be over, somewhere to be. Once that goal is achieved, then we wait for something else. We rarely live fully and rarely live in the present moment.
“When you think about it in the big scheme of things our time together is like a dash of spice in a big cosmic soup – important for richness of flavor but still not quite the main ingredient. The past is over. It can’t and shouldn’t be reclaimed. All we ever have is now anyway.” - Alyson Noel
Eckhart Tolle wrote “ People don’t realize that now is all there ever is; there is no past or future except as memory or anticipation in your mind.” How true is that? How many of us are vexed about the mental chatter and the anxiety and want a little peace for us. The secret lies in the present moment a.k.a now. Another catch here is “Most of the things we worry about don't happen.” We plan ahead every day carefully, planning for the future inch by inch, brick by brick, the entire future completely laid out and we just need to arrive there. How beautiful our dreams seem. Then all of a sudden, a pandemic drops in the middle, and everything we hoped, wished and planned had crumbed down to pieces. So is it futile to plan or to hope for the future or learn from the past. No, absolutely not. But all we need to do is take life minute by minute and moment by moment. Anything might happen in the future like a world pandemic and change everything upside down, and here we are like puppets being pulled to the strings of unknown. Plan for the future, learn from the past. But be in the present moment. Live life fully. Accept whatever your present moment holds and work with it. Don't resist the present moment. Don't resist life. Be free of the mind chatter and be in the now. Enjoy life fully, whatever life brings. Have a positive attitude towards life. Cherish your family and friends. Live as if now is all you have, because that is all you will ever have.
