As Time Goes By #3

Time continuum

the past, present and future

in parallel worlds

No matter how much we might long to live in another time, we have no say in the matter. We are locked into the present, able to relive moments of our own past through our memories, but unable to go any further than that. We can speculate what the future may hold, but despite our best efforts we really have little control over how things will turn out. There are those who say they were born a century too late, for they feel they would fit in so much better in a world far removed from the frenetic pace and degree of technology we depend on every day that we now take for granted.

At times we all long for the simpler life of the past, as if it had some magical quality that the present does not possess or is incapable of providing. Then there are those who would relish the opportunity to see into the future, not only for their own curiosity, but to observe how our present actions or inaction for that matter will affect the planet’s well-being. Scientific projections are made constantly, throwing light on expected outcomes, but to stand in the future and see the real consequences would shed light on decisions and changes that need to be made now in real time, in order to preserve for ourselves and future generations this fragile planet we call home.

Countless books and movies have been churned out about time travel, whether into the past or the future, and the dilemmas such journeys can provide in terms of intervening in the events of history. If you suddenly found yourself transported back to November 22^nd 1963 and woke up in a downtown Dallas hotel, what would you do? Or you turned up in the heart of New York the night before 9/11, who would you call? What would you do? Would you try to avert the disaster about to wreak havoc on the world? Do you think anyone would take notice? Having foresight and planning for possible scenarios is one thing, but the beauty of hindsight is that the facts are clearly revealed when laid out in chronological order. Documentaries on the unfolding of any disaster, be it natural or man-made, show the warning signs, and how decisions and mistakes made along the way conspire to bring about a completely unexpected climax.

And then there are the forays into parallel worlds and alternative dimensions, such as in the movies Sliding Doors and Kate and Leopold or The Family Man, where a split-second decision made at any given moment can radically change the course of events of one’s life. Through default or design, we choose a certain pathway, or allow others to choose it for us, but what if the life we may have lived had we been more adventurous was actually unfolding at the same time as the one in which we find ourselves. If we could get a glimpse of the person we might have become, would we be filled with regret or conclude the life we have lived has been just as worthwhile. Then again, maybe it could give us the courage to take a risk, to step out of our comfort zones if we dared to believe, even for a moment, that a life other than the one we might feel trapped in, was possible.

Unlike the movie characters, we don’t have the luxury of flitting between time dimensions in our attempt to work out where we belong, where we fit in the scheme of things and how our life can be most meaningful. Our lives do need to have purpose, otherwise we wouldn’t even bother to get out of bed in the morning, so amid the chaos of our daily lives we all have to somehow find time and space to evaluate how we’re going. We all have twenty four hours a day in which to make our mark, so whether what we’ve achieved in the past, or what we’re doing presently, is not heading us in the right direction, the only way the future is going to be any different is if we take that first step to change it.