Monday, October 5, 2009

What time is it?



What time is it? That is a very interesting question when you stop to think about it. Is it five o' clock or six o'clock? Is it time to get moving? Do you have enough time? Is the time right? Have you run out of time? We tend to think of time as a linear progression through space measured in increments of units called seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, etc. But is there more to it than that? The ancient philosopher, Qohelet in the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1 said,


"1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.


Qohelet seems to suggest that there is a proper time to do things. That there is indeed a quality to time rather than just a quantitative measurement. What do you remember about the past? Do you remember the quantitative aspects of time? Do you remember 3:00 pm, Dec 11th 1992? Probably not. What you remember is that last year, you were sharing time with your son boating down the river, what you remember is when you fell head over heels in love, what you remember is the birth of your son or daughter. That is qualitative time. We are here on this planet to experience qualitative time. Are you living quality time or are you just killing time? Now is a good time to get started!

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