OBS POST #42: The Chance of a Lifetime

You can do better than just singing the blues, or it's about time we had a little talk about time.

Oct 19, 2024

A Not So Lengthy Treatise about Time

It is Saturday, just barely afternoon, 12:20 to be precise. Somehow we have become welded to the calendar, welded to time. The clock goes ticktock, and we dance to the music of time. Sometimes we feel stranded by these time machines that keep us in the present, and at other times locked to the past. All this in the game to fight the future. The future you surmise, that’s all determined by fate you respond to your own inner questioning of existence. The truth of the matter is that is not quite true. The Rolling Stones sing Time Is on My Side and I don’t just wonder, I know it is! Mick Jagger will never run out of time!

Time Chronos/Kairos Is on My Side

The word time, goes wayback in, umm, time. If you study close enough it stems from Middle, tyme, and Old English, time, very similar to the Germanic, tīmō. From there, it makes a big jump to Indo-European deh₂y, meaning to divide. When you think about the actual mechanics of time, you can see how our calendar from year to weeks, to days, to hours, to minutes and to seconds are all divisions of, you got it — time!

Chronos

Now, when we take up the words chronos and kairos, it gets very, very interesting. With these two words, the ancient Greeks sought to not just take time apart, but to delve into the strange mysteries of it. Chronos itself simply means time, and it is used in words like chronological.

Chronos represents the relentless march of time, the ever-advancing flow we track with precision instruments. It's the tick of clock hands, the digital display on our wrists, and the cyclical waxing and waning of the moon. This measurable progression shapes our days and marks our years. However, our experience of time extends beyond this linear construct. There exists a deeper, more nuanced dimension of temporal perception that transcends the boundaries of chronological measurement. “Chronos is the forward propelling time that we measure with clocks, on watches, and by the evolutionary phases of the moon. But time does not end there.”

Kairos

It is Kairos that is most intriguing and the lesser known “alternative” to time/chronos. "Kairos" embodies what philosophers and mystics often describe as "deep time" - moments when the world seems to pause, transcending ordinary temporal flow. It is derived from the Greek, meaning right or opportune moment, These instances manifest in various forms: the lingering warmth of a deep exhale, the shared joy of spontaneous laughter, or the awe inspired by a vivid sunset painting the sky. It's the timeless quality felt in a child's wonder, the hushed reverence in a sacred space, or the flow state of an artist lost in creation. Kairos represents qualitative time, offering a gateway to fully inhabit the present, liberated from the constraints of ticking clocks and turning calendar pages. In these moments, we find the opportunity to move forward with intention and clarity, experiencing time not as a linear progression, but as a rich, multidimensional tapestry of meaningful experiences. It is interesting that kairos represents the timeless feeling for that moment, as if time does not and cannot enter.

The roots of kairos trace back to ancient Greek archery, symbolizing the critical instant when an archer identifies the ideal opportunity to release their arrow. This concept transcends its origins, finding parallels in various disciplines. In the realm of music, chronos manifests as the steady, measurable beat of a metronome, governing rhythm and tempo. Kairos, in contrast, emerges when a musician becomes fully immersed in performance, entering a state of flow where time seems to dissolve, and creativity flows unimpeded. This distinction illustrates how kairos represents not just timing, but the convergence of skill, opportunity, and inspiration across different domains of human experience.

Kairos is a most fascinating concept and fully demonstrates that Time Is on My Side!

A Very Lonely Outpost

There are times when I feel like I am on a very lonely outpost. I am not here to woe about the past or present or worry about the future. I am not here to predict the future. I am here to create the future. This may not be significant to some, but to me, I am all in. We either create the future or fall prey to the future. It is up to us. We can all be guardians of the universe!

In a cosmic tale of guardianship, ethereal beings tasked with protecting the universe from evil could be portrayed as a diverse collective of spiritual entities or a singular, shapeshifting force. These guardians, possessing the power to traverse space and time, would face the constant challenge of maintaining universal balance while grappling with ethical dilemmas and the limits of their intervention. The story could unfold through alternating perspectives, showcasing both the grand scale of cosmic events and the intimate struggles of individual guardians.

Politics Flies Out the Window

If I read one more political statement, one more political text message (I am so glad I do not pay per message — that would be a disaster) one more political ad I will just scream for an hour or so. I am so sick of politics. Is it shameful to feel this way? How awful is it to feel this way about a coming election? Can we not exist above the fray somehow? I don’t have the answer to that, but in terms of time, politics falls in the realm of worrying about the future. Politics is the worry that the opposing party will win and yours will lose. Would it not be a bad thing for both parties to work together?