“What time is it?” or “ We’re running late” is a phrase most used in our everyday lives. The resentment and regret we feel about the past and the fear and anxiety we get while thinking of the future is something we all feel and often are told to live in the “present”. But what if there is no past, present, or future? Nothing to dwell on or look forward to since the concept of time may not even be real. But instead it is all an illusion.
If time is an illusion, then what are clocks? The making of a clock is extremely confusing. How does one find a regular beat or pattern and how does one ensure that it stays constant? There is no exact measurement besides from a clock so how can we guarantee its accuracy? Before you think that this theory is complete insanity, Einstein’s theory of relativity really questions the thought of time itself. Einstein himself had said that the faster you move through space the slower you move through time. If you were the one moving close to the speed of light, the passing of time will be slower than someone being stationary on earth, think about it this way, the classic formula of Speed equals distance over time is well known by everything, since moving at a higher speed such as the speed of light results in covering a higher distance resulting in having more time when compared to someone who is on earth traveling at a normal speed and distance, this whole concept is called time dilation. It’s extremely complex and complicated, even the best scientists don’t understand it themselves. This is proving time dilation is due to motion making time relative.
The concept of time is man-made. Lunchtime isn’t real, nor is 4 in the afternoon. Think about it; 4 pm doesn’t exist in the universe since it purely doesn’t matter. All that matters is the present, not what the time is. Without this unit of measure that humans have made up, then this world would be pure andutterchaos. There will be no school hours, no rush hour, and no work hours, just the present slowly shifting. Therefore resulting in the feeling of uncertainty. Remember, humans invent things just for themselves, for the sake oftheir owncomfort. We all want to be in charge of at least something, the craving for control and certainty lies within all of us and the universal concept of time allows for that to occur. Us being able to control what we’re going to do at what time and for how long, slowly tricking ourselves into thinking that we can take charge in at least an aspect of our life but in reality all we’re doing is controlling a concept which might not even exist. Either way, the earth will still spin and no big changes actually occur disregarding it. Even if time isn’t real, we live in a society that follows its rules and concepts. We are still expected to be at a certain place at a certain moment and time just makes that easier to organize and understand. We have no choice but to follow it, everyone else does. Appearing late to a conference or school just because you don’t believe in the concept of time for sure won’t justify your actions but instead, make you seem somewhat insane.
Memories, that nice trip you had with your friends last summer? It’s a memory. We all cherish it so much, only the good ones of course. But the bad ones, we would rather forget. Memories justify the past and the future. We only see the past as true because we can remember it and it stayswithinour memory while we believe that the future exists since we woke up today and the day before thinking that the next day will be the same. The plans and doubts of the future makes it more convincing for our brains to believe it will actually happen, that tomorrow will actually come . The future isn't real, the future is a thought. The only period we can truly live through is the present since it’s the only “time frame” in which we can control what we do while being fully conscious. The “future” will be the present then the “past”. Time, it’s all in our head, that’s why time can move fast for some and slower for others therefore proving it’s all a mental notion since it’s subjective to each individual.
“Time” iscontinuouslya big mystery but so are most things. There is no rush infiguringout whether it is real or not, we can barely get through life with the unit of time, which is organizing our life itself. Whatever our beliefs and theoretical views may be, we will just need to accept it. It’s a system and unit of measure fixed in place in our society that won’t be changed anytime soon. Disregarding your conviction, 3 minutes is still 180 seconds, 24 hours is still 1 day and 365 days is still a year, none of that will change. Living with it is the best way to cope but the refreshing idea of the past and future not existing in real life but only in our trail of thoughts gives us a slight reminder to live life in the moment since technically that’s the only time you are alive.