this may seem like a fairly trivial topic, it is important that you have an
understanding of this, and to the fullest extent possible. To begin with I
would suggest that the best place to start is to analyze what time really is.
Time is : "indefinite continued existence of the universe in
past, present and future regarded as a whole; progress of this as affecting
persons or things" and as quoted by the Oxford Dictionary.
Whilst this seems to be a fairly comprehensive description of time, this does
not appear to acknowledge the fact that time and the concept of time depends on
the perception of it. Perceptions which are based on the societal perspective
from which it is viewed. Obviously there is the broad sense as indicated by the
dictionary definition, but this could also be considered in terms of the micro
sense which could be simply a fraction of a second.
Another rather exciting observation that can be made about time is
that it has essentially two properties :
- There is always a sequence (today, tomorrow, the day
after, the next week, etc...);
- and it is usually cyclical.(24 hours, 60 minutes, 365
Only considering these two however, would
definitively ignore a third aspect of time, which makes it by definition fluid
in it's application. That is that the measurement of time, differs from society
to society. As an example, typically the African communities have for the
longest of time measured time simply by day and night, and further have
measured seasons by the cycles of the moon, which is essentially 12 - 13 full
moons per year, and some have even used the position of the sun to determine
time of day (at least approximately). Whilst in your more modern societies the
use of an artificially created clock, which whilst generally more accurate, are
also based on planetary cycles, and as such have a similar basis yet is
differently used in varying societies. And have by each society been developed
to suit it's own individual needs.
This brings me to the next issue. Specifically the question of
what we need time for. Again this will vary from society to society, and more
specifically by what they need to measure. From the simple time in which to
start planting a crop, to the hourly rates charged by some professions you will
find that each society has a system of time measurement which will suit the
needs this society has. Scientists may need to measure fractions of seconds,
which may make it possible to determine more accurate speed, etc...
This will qualify the dictionary definition: To measure
"Progress...", and more specifically what time is used for. Well
let's think about what would happen if we had no time. We would not be able to
measure the speed at which our vehicles are travelling, and we would not be
able to coordinate anything as we would not be able to say when it should
happen (we would not be able to plan). And we would not know when is the season
to plant crops for food, etc.... Imagine the disasters this would create....
Imagine the chaos....
This will allow us to consider another rather interesting aspect of time, and
more specifically that it seems to exist in the physical universe, for
the purpose of measuring progress. Or at least to allow us to measure progress,
and not surprising by a scale that was created by us to suit our needs.
Author Bio :
The author, Pieter Heydenrych is a Reiki master who maintains both sites Learn how to meditate as well as The Order of Perfect. In both instances the sites are dedicated to enlightenment and the spread of knowledge to all who wish to learn.