In present, of past, about future
The more you think about how our mind works, the more you are confused about everything in general. Questions of retrospection. Why did I do that? Or how come my mouth uttered those words? Where can I go wrong with my plan? Blah. Blah. The culprit in most such embarrassing cases is our mind. Or rather lack of it. When you are mindful, you are merrily waltzing with time as well as space. But when you are heavily distracted (for whatever reason), you tend to lose track of time and space.
Long time ago, during my hostel days, I read somewhere, that time is nothing but a psychological construct. It bothered me back then and it bothers me equally today as well. Because if time is indeed a psychological construct, where does it end? After all, even after we are dead and gone, time continues. So, how exactly is it a construct? Isn’t the whole purpose of a construct to claim the absolute?
I accept that we aren’t going to unlock the mysteries of the universe with one badly edited blog post on Medium. However, it’s worth wondering about the part time plays in our everyday decisions. For example, let’s say, the alarm was set for 6.15 but you wake up at 7.12 and you are already late. You are typically panicking — as if it’s going to make everything right — and forced to act according to the situation you find yourself in. It’s an uncomfortable realization. You see, the sun wasn’t up early. Even if it rained all night, the sun was still out on time. It was you who was late. So, time changed for you although time remained the same.
To help you understand this context better, let’s compare the timeline with various possible scenarios.
[past]
“I wish I had a camera!”
[present]
“I wish I had a better phone!”
[past]
Diamonds are forever.
[present]
Memes are forever.
[present]
“Is anything sacred?”
[future]
“Is anything pure?”
[past]
The whole world’s a stage.
[present]
Everything is staged.
[past]
“Bhagwan sab dekh raha hai.”
[present]
“Google sab dekh aur sunn raha hai.”
[present]
Kids can be assholes.
[future]
Kids are assholes.
[past]
Scriptures are divine.
[present]
Data is divine.
[past]
Fill your stomach.
[present]
Stay relevant.
[present]
“We are on the same page.”
[future]
“We are stuck on the same page.”
[present]
Drink responsibly.
[future]
Think responsibly.
[present]
Don’t believe everything you read.
[future]
Don’t believe.
[past]
Send nudes.
[present]
Mend feuds.
[past]
Everything happens for a reason.
[future]
Everything happens for a meme.
[past]
Time is money.
[present]
Convenience is money.
[past]
“Take care.”
[future]
“Stay moisturized.”
[past]
Nothing connects people like football.
[present]
Nothing connects people like hatred for a specific football club.
[past]
“If only we could see things differently!”
[present]
“If only we could see things for what they are!”
[present]
It’s all about how it is.
[future]
It’s all about how it seems.
[past]
You retweeted/shared whatever you found interesting.
[present]
You check the person’s janm patrika/blood group/Aadhaar/political leaning/perfume/etc before everything else.
[past]
“India will be a superpower.”
[future]
“Dhang ki sadak bana de bas.”
[present]
Listen to your body.
[future]
Listen to your stomach at least.
[past]
“One day, I’ll win the Booker Prize!”
[present]
*scratching gift card* “One day, I’ll win the cooker prize!”
[past]
“I am ugly.”
[present]
“Doesn’t matter.”
[future]
“Nothing matters.”
