As far back as I can recall, time has been both friend and foe. Time enlightens and confounds in equal measure within the same moment. Note, I had to catch myself there and not use ‘time’ again in that sentence, in lieu of moment, for stylistic sake. To be honest, I find it fascinating that for such a sentence time is both subject and predicate. That does not happen frequently per grammar and syntax rules.

Focusing just on English language’s vocabulary and usage, all words related to time are open to interpretation. In fact, I feel any language’s prose and poetry are replete with allusions to the mystery of time.

Did we create time or time created us? There are references to linearity of time versus circularity of time; having all the time versus no time; one time versus time and time again; timeliness versus timelessness; and the list goes on.

In this essay I present a few relatively poetic concepts of time, the first three of which are by well-known entities and the last by a relatively obscure one. I then conclude with a consensus on time that may practically benefit the readers.

TS Eliot’s Time

“Time present and time past

Are both perhaps present in time future,

And time future contained in time past.

If all time is eternally present

All time is unredeemable.”

This is how TS Eliot starts his ‘Four Quartets’ that has likely been the inspiration (overt or covert) for a whole host of time-based movies and shows, such as Back to the Future, Interstellar, Dark, and so on. Four Quartets is one of the longest poems I have ever read. A poem in four parts, most of it depicts time per the poet’s lengthy interpretation. Reflecting just on the five lines quoted above, the poet is essentially telling us that all events, past, present and future, have already occurred, hence nothing, be it our thoughts, words or actions, can change the future or the past. This is reminiscent of the never ending debate with regards to free will versus predestiny. Regardless, I think understanding our past journey can help us become better humans in the present, irrespective of any change happening in the future.

Shams Tabriz’s Time

“The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals.”

This is an excerpt from rule # 28 of Shams’ 40 rules of love. I have been inspired by it for a long time. Upon first reading it in Elif Shafak’s highly acclaimed novel ‘The 40 Rules of Love’, I was excited by the allusion to time moving through us in endless spirals (the circular nature of time). That made a lot of sense to me because the converse that time was linear, with the past, present and future along a neat straight continuum, was an overly simplified cause and effect approach. The assumption that each occurrence in one’s life could be cleanly tied back to a past event was problematic to me and Shams’ rule #28 was therefore an endorsement.

Milan Kundera’s Time

“People are always shouting they want to create a better future. It's not true. The future is an apathetic void of no interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us, provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it. The only reason people want to be masters of the future is to change the past.”

This is an excerpt from Part 1 of Milan Kundera’s ‘The Book of Laughter and Forgetting’. The book considers the nature of forgetting as it occurs in history, politics and life in general. In this, Kundera is alluding to the perception of time in terms of how we think of our own past. He makes the past the most energizing aspect of one’s life (as compared to an insipid future). In other words if time were a story/novel/movie, the protagonist would be the past, and the future its fickle mistress.

Asad Mian’s Time

“Today heralds the beginning of an era
Not of interest to meaningless minds
Regardless, time’s story must be told.
However, if you believe Time is irrelevant
So is yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Thus, forget the past and start afresh
That’s all you’ve got…
Why assume the present is from the past
And the future you seek does not come your way?
An assumption: time was, is, will be linear.
If Shams’ past is an interpretation, future an illusion
Then time was, is, will always be there.
Time is eternal.”

This is an excerpt from part four of ‘An Insomniac’s Dream’, a seven part rambling poem by yours truly. This part is dedicated to time, hence it’s really my ode to it. In it I have attempted to reconcile thoughts of literary and spiritual masters, like the aforementioned TS Eliot and Shams Tabriz.

Although time is super complicated, no matter through what lens you probe it, I still cannot stop myself from trying to gauge it. Per my verse quoted above, this is what I am trying to say: (i) if all time has already occurred (per TS Eliot) and we have no free will that does not really absolve us of the moral obligation to add to ‘the music of the universe’. To do our bit and improve lives of humans, plants and animals around us; work towards environmental sustainability, so to say. (ii) if the past is an interpretation and the future an illusion (per Shams Tabriz), where does that leave us? I believe, the answer is the present.

In the final analysis, living in and for the moment is the most crucial aspect of mindfulness that I can practice. My hope is that you are able to quieten down your mind enough to hang on to your present, just be, and make that now the most wonderful part of your journey.

The author is an ER physician-researcher-innovator at Aga Khan University. He writes on topics ranging from healthcare and education to humor and popular culture. He authored 'An Itinerant Observer' (2014) and ‘MEDJACK: the extraordinary journey of an ordinary hack’ (2021)