Time is Humanity’s Greatest Problem and Solution

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October na mamaya! Ang bilis ng panahon. Parang kailan lang, nag-ce-celebrate tayo ng
New Year! Tapos, boom - Q4 na agad!

Some people might feel thrilled and excited about the matter. After all, if they are eagerly
waiting for a future and certain event (or what we call as "period" in the legal sense),
talagang mas gugustuhin nila na mapabilis ang panahon. On the otherhand, we have those
who feel the opposite: they want the time to slow down because they do not want a specific
day to arrive for some seemingly-complicated reasons. Case in point - kapag paparating na
ang exam week, you will definitely wish to have all the time in the world to prepare. But then
again, are you ever going to be prepared enough?

What I find to be really amazing and at the same time, frustrating, is that time is something
that humans invented for themselves. Chronometry (or the science of accurate time
measurement) has evolved from the dates that we have first formulated it, and that is with
good reasons. It also has its very own scientific bases (that the Earth rotates around its axis
24 hours, or that the Earth revolves around the sun for +/- 365 days). It is a system that we
have developed over generations, and eventually we let it become one of the unspoken rules
in the realm of science and philosophy. Parang Math: It is the law and the language of the
universe; it was not taught to us but it is definitely there, and the humanity just happened to
find a way to read it.

Now the frustrating part is that since we have developed the concept of time for ourselves,
one can now argue that time is a social construct. After all, it is the humanity that imposed
the notions of a regular 8-hour workshift, or that a person acquires the full capability to think
for himself and decide on the logic of his actions after the age of 18 years, or that a good age
for a person to marry is more or less 30. The way I perceive it is that we have set, not just
the standards of time as a unit of measurement, but also the factors as to how a regular man
should live based on the society's expectations.

Point is, the essence of time can make our daily lives stressful and demanding. But since we
have imposed the concept on ourselves, one can also rebut and say that time is nothing but
an illusion -- that it is just a matter of mindset. The fact that we invented it means we can
eradicate it, or at least, iyung concept lang.

Imagine a world that does not follow the rigors of time measurement. That might be a
person's version of utopia. After all, kahit saang angulong tingnan, mas masarap mabuhay
kapag alam mong magigising ka na walang inaalalang deadline, o kaya naman ay hindi mo
kailangang makagraduate at this age, o hindi mo kailangang alalahanin na makapagipon ng
"x" amount of money at some point. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in that world? And sure, kahit
batohin ka pa ng scientific explanation kung bakit ganoon ang time, you can also counter na
it is not exactly a standard; that time differs in every place in the universe; that a year on
Earth is not the same as a year on Mars, so nasaan ang standard doon?

But then again, the concept of time is deeply rooted and well-entrenched in our daily lives.
To remove it is to break the system itself. And this can lead to extremes, mapa-good man or
mapa-bad. Kapag inalis mo yan, when can you say na it is the harvesting season for a
certain crop?; or when is the good time to prepare for the winter?; or when should a
politician's term expire to prevent him from abusing the power which was given to him by the
public. And kahit pang sabihin natin na we can remove the illusion of time from our minds
alone, one way or another, the society will force you to go back and follow the rules. Sure,
pwede kang pumasok sa opisina ng 1PM and say that that is your definition of being early,
but then again, do you have the authority to dictate the correct construction of "early"? No,
and in fact, baka ma-terminate ka pa ng employer mo.

Ang essence lang naman ng post ko ay ganito: Why do we have to feel stressed about the
passage of time, when in fact, we are the ones who imposed it on ourselves? And it is
amazingly-weird kasi: 1) as I said, the measurement of time brought with it standards that
make our lives orderly, so it's good; and 2) along with it came the social constructs such as
deadlines, which is not good. And sure, you can opt not to follow the system, but you have to
prepare for the consequences of such action because attempting to break the system is
most probably an exercise in futility.

Like all others, it has its own pros and cons. You can argue it from any sides of the coin, but
you will eventually realize that it will not come to an end at all because the facts and theories
surrounding it are limitless, inexhaustible, infinite.

For me, I could always say na I do not have to finish all these stuff on my plate on or before
the deadline. But will I do it? Of course not. I do not want to fail the standards set forth by the
society. I will always seek the balance between doing things in my own pace and meeting
the period imposed by the community, but I will try to strategize and stick with a strict time
schedule so as to mitigate the possible consequences should there be any.

And if in any case that the turnout is not good – well - I will just say na "time is an illusion"
and as such, it is not necessarily the end. I will just try again and again even if it is the last
thing that I do. Si Pia Wurtzbach nga, natalo 2 times bago nanalo sa Bb Pilipinas eh. Si JK
Rowling, ilang beses binagsak ng mga publishers bago naging successful sa Harry Potter
novels. Elon Musk became successful at a young age whereas Colonel Sanders got it when
he was already in his 60s. These people tried to go along with the flow of time
notwithstanding the deadlines and the failures, and ended up very well. I hope, ganoon din
sa atin.

- And back to digesting.