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SERIES - TIME MANAGEMENT – PART 1
WHAT IS TIME?
With this series on “Time Management”, I shall be presenting different concepts, ideas and solutions to different aspects of “Time shortage” that we normally face. Not only this, but we may also have solutions to other issues, like what to do with “surplus time” that we have after implementing “time management concepts”!
In short, I assure you with 3 promises from my side, without your asking for them. First is that you will be able to manage yourself with respect to time. Second promise is that you will have all the time, to do, whatever you want to do, provided you do. And last but not the least, that you will be such a master in Time management that you may advise others on the subject.
But let me warn you about that this treatment shall have one side-effect. One is that you may have much of “leisure time” spared out of your busy schedule, so be ready with your list of things you always wanted to do, but could not do so far. GIFT such excess time to your loved ones and to those who may benefit from your time.
So let us begin.
What is Time? Time is very difficult to be defined within words, but may be explained by characteristics it possesses. Let us elucidate on each one in more detail.
Many of us have seen “Mahabharat” serial in ‘90s, where Harish Bhimani in his heavy husky special voice says “Main Samay hoon…”. Is HE the Time or his nick-name is “Time”? No. We may conclude that time may not be a person.
When our watch shows Hours and Minutes and Seconds, is that Time? No. It is just the measurement of Time, like we measure liquid in litres, metals in kgs etc.
Does our Calendar show time in Days, Months, years? No. That’s also another form of measurement of time on larger scale. Was Time not present before we started preparing calendars? We had. Even Krishna is said to be 5000+ years of existence and Rama about thousand years ahead of him. So we may conclude here that Time is not a THING also.
If Time is not a person, nor a thing like clock/watch or calendar, what else it can be? It’s a notion or idea or thought. How can it be? Yes, it is. It is a notion which existed always. Clock and Calendar may only be the unit of measurement and not TIME itself.
Time has its own speed and it is consistent and constant. It flows in rhythmic way every moment and moment to moment with same speed. Like a drop from Jaladhari on Head of Lord Shiva, we may feel time coming at regular intervals.
No Accumulation or Exchange is possible of Time, hence it may be called Inexhaustible Depreciable asset. A moment gone is lost forever and cannot be regained, like an arrow thrown out of bow, or a word spoken out of mouth cannot be taken back or withdrawn. The time of anyone cannot be exchanged with anyone else on this planet, nor can it be accumulated to be used at later period. We may conclude here that Time is also not an energy, which may otherwise be stored and exchanged.
Time is Irreversible – No Replay or Fast Forward or Rewind of Time is feasible, like the functional keys we have in music players.
We may call it like a Flow of water of river, where water once gone, is not reverted. Every time, we have new water flowing in and not the same water flows again.
And most unique part of LIFE is that we never know “How much time is left”?
Another unique feature of Time is that there applies “Law of Relativity”. Relativity of Time? How, we have not heard of such thing, nor any scientist has any Research paper on it. Yes. The time is relative in 2 different ways. Do you remember that when you sit with your beloved person all alone in a lonely place, you experience that where time has flown by? It is too short with such persons, where days flown by and you feel that it is only a few hours only. Let us have some more time together.
But if you happen to be with such a person who you dislike the most? The minutes spent with him/her looks like hours or days spent and time gone by was such boring that you always felt that it gets over so soon.
I give you another example. If you have any passion or liking for any activity, say music. And when you happen to be another music loving person like you, and you keep singing songs of different moods all the time, but you do not feel how much time has gone by?
This is called “Relativity of Time”.
When you wait for someone, it is slow but when you are late for a program, it is always faster.
If you are desperate, time is very painstaking but if you are in ecstasy, time seems too short.
If you are bored and feel boring in life, it is too lengthy.
Time has been defined by one of the philosophers as “the distance between two events”. Irony is that this distance is measured not in traditional way! But if we consider two events like Birth and Death, distance between these two extreme events may be even 100 years. We call it Life.
One of philosophers said that time is “the consciousness of sequences of events” and he is also true in his way, as unless and until we become aware of such events, we may not find “time”. Hence conscious awareness is utmost necessary.
Someone said that “time is our Experience as to Change” and he is also true, as the change comes over a period of time only. Our experience supports that notion, hence true.
Somebody said that “Time is an internal dialogue” and when meditating, you may experience this truth. It is said that when you pray, you do communication to God, but when you meditate, it is direct communication from God.
So how was your time with TIME?
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