Time — how we look at it
What does it mean?
Have you ever experienced the difference in how we perceive time? Sure you did. While at work a few minutes suddenly feel like hours, and after what seems to be 8 hours of work, you realise that just 5 minutes have passed. Crazy, isn’t it? In reality, not so much.
I was fascinated about the concept of time during my college years; the way we look at it was also a subject of my dissertation. It was many years ago and although most of my arguments may not be so convincing right now, the question about different ways of perceiving time still remains.
While I was gathering materials for my paper, I came across a book by Mircea Eliade. He was and still is a specialist in past cultures and beliefs. In his books he analyses the “myth of eternal return” which is a specific way of looking at time from the point of view of the ancient cultures.
Our ancestors didn’t perceive time in a linear sense. I mean, there wasn’t a “clear” line of cause and effect. Something happened in the past, there is now, and in the future reality as we know it, will cease to exist. For example: Creation of the world
Big Bang → Now → End of Days
Armageddon, Second Coming of Christ, Explosion of the Sun, Big Crunch, and so on.
Past cultures according to Eliade saw reality as the constant present that kept on updating itself.
Time — What does it mean?
Somewhere in ancient, mythical times some god, hero or first father, mother, or other figure did something for the first time, and now people just keep repeating this thing. It is hard to grasp at first.
The ancient mythical time isn’t past as we know it. It is “time” of first pure thing, an idea put to life. The first “doing” was perfect, so it won’t change and will be repeated forever. In addition, “future” isn’t used either. There is no big “prophesied” event at the end of the road because there is no end. The present is all there is, and people living in it keep playing their roles, which were selected in mythical times.
Our modern point of view is completely different. There is always something that was, is, and will be. While we are waiting for something to come, we valorise it according to our past and present situation. We have many more points of reference that are stimulated by experience, memories, and by hopes.
If you want to know more about time, Eliade is one of the most enjoyable authors, at least in my opinion. His books have changed my point of view and showed me that reality isn’t necessarily what it seems. Maybe they will do the same for you.
by Leszek Jasiński
