Hello Dear Friends.
It has long been my contention that when you get down to it, there are only two emotions: love and fear. Love embodies all that is favorable, while fear embodies...you guessed it...all that is unfavorable (or at least not-so-favorable). In between those lines is a myriad of labels that we've concocted to describe more specifically what human beings and those select few that we recognize as worthy are feeling. Happiness (Love), Trust (Love), Greed (Fear), Anger (Fear) - are all examples. Given this thesis, every emotional action and reaction is dictated by either love or fear. Now this does not assume that our intention is to convey love or fear, merely to suggest that our actions and interpretation of the emotion arising from said action are, at some point, able to be classified as one or the other. Let's call them 'core emotions'.
Stick with me, I'm going somewhere with this.
Time. The ultimate variable. Time is a constant - time marches on - so it is NOT a variable...correct?? I suggest that time is a variable in that it can be both our greatest ally or our most vicious nemesis. I want you to imagine that time is not what we humans have labeled it as. It is not seconds, minutes or when we have to get to the next meeting that's been wedged into our busy agenda. Instead, imagine it as something that we either have or don't. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that WE are the variable...or at least our interpretation of existing in this space and time varies from the life that we are currently aware of to the blank space that exists on both sides.
So what is the correlation??
Love & Hate vs. Time. Insomuch as we are capable of feeling an emotion, we are aware of the very finite time line that dictates each experience. Taken over a long enough sample...these experiences combine to form our life's journey. Throughout, we have a very pecular way of interpreting time based on the core emotions that surface from experience. With Love, time is perceived as an ally. As with all that is on 'our side', we do not feel the need to concern ourselves with time when our experience is linked to love. Therefore, in the face of love, time is infinite. A non-factor. It 'stands still' or 'flies by'. In the face of fear though, a very different interpretation of time is revealed. Time becomes a nemesis. Fear brings time to the forefront and causes us to fight against it. We concern ourselves with the detail of time which overshadows the experience that we are faced with. Fear and time share a mutually beneficial relationship with one another.
Am I making sense here?? Perhaps a few examples to illustrate...
I am fortunate enough to associate the work that I do with favorable emotions. Joy, Satisfaction, Bewilderment, etc. etc. ...Love. When I am working I don't think about time. It does not factor. This is evidenced by the days that have slipped past while involving myself in a process that I am passionate about. This is accomplished without recognition that time has, in fact, passed. A mother and her newborn baby. Yes, the days may seem long, but when that little one leaves home for the first day of college, it seems like only yesterday that he or she were still in diapers and needed their mommy. Two new lovers embarking on the journey of discovery...timelines erode. These are all examples of favorable experiences, and are not associated with a ticking clock or a beginning and an end.
Conversely exists the fear/time continuum. I recently suffered a blockage in my esophagus. This experience caused an overwhelming sense of helplessness, anxiety and desperation. ...fear. Immediately my thoughts shifted to time. Am I out of time?? Did I have the time to tell my mother that I love her?? Did I have the time to illustrate to my girlfriend the profound effect that she has had on my life?? Will I ever spend time with my siblings again?? As morbid as these thoughts were, they were instinctually brought to consciousness by virtue of fear. Like a cat hiding in a tree waiting for its predator to pass. She will stay perched all day until the 'bad guy' loses interest. Like the disinterested high school student staring at the clock, waiting for bell to ring. 'When will the time come??' These are examples of the unfavorable emotion. ...fear. And with fear comes the shocking realization of time.
I am not suggesting that love is a good thing and fear is bad. This is not my intention. Instead, I am recognizing that both exist...perhaps one to amplify the other, combining in a helix around the perception of time. Perfect symbiosis. Only through experiencing great fear can we realize the value of time. Only through love can we realize that time is irrelevant. Only through experiencing both the favorable and unfavorable can we realize the magnitute of our existence in this life. And only through this realization can true enlightenment begin. our energies are timeless...our forms bound to time.
At any rate, we mustn't squander that which we have been given - for its value is too great to measure.
please note: I am currently working to expand upon this theory. I am presenting it in a very raw form in an attempt to gather feedback from the people whom I value most. I invite your thoughts in helping me to develop mine. I value and love you all, and thank you for reading.
love.laughter.light,
t
(just a guy with some stuff on his mind)
