TS Elliot's "The Four Quartets"

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.

Time is such an abstract idea but is also very concrete and measurable. There are atomic clocks that keep time to the nanosecond, we can buy watches that would allow us to tell time deep into the ocean depths, and we worry about “what time it is” endlessly. Most of us own several watches, alarm clocks, grandfather clocks, cuckoo clocks and clocks of every sort scattered throughout our homes and our lives. We think if we know “what time it is” at every moment we are using our “time” wisely, it is also a sign of politeness and good manners if we are “on-time” to work, to church, to meet friends. We do all of this, and yet we never have enough “time” to live, to relax, to enjoy and just to be present.

We can keep our clocks accurate, and watch the time constantly, but once that second hand goes around that clock, we have lost that moment, never to be retrieved. Planning for the next thing we have to do, or the place we have to be, or what we have to accomplish, those moments lost are irredeemable. The child who wanted to tell you something, or just be with you, is all grown up, the family member or friend that you haven’t talked to in years, because you didn’t have the “time”, has died, and one day you look around and wonder “where did the time go”. In the Four Quartets, T.S. Elliot writes that we had the experience, but missed the meaning.

Time is an abstract idea that it can’t be captured, relived, or measured. Each moment is precious and full of meaning. “A people without history is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern of timeless moments”.

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from.

We are born and we die, and the time between is precious and full of people and moments that need to be treasured. During our time on earth we are continuously seeking for meaning, love and fulfillment in our lives, many times not realizing it is already in our grasp.

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

What we are seeking is already present. We need to just stop, look around......... and just breathe.