Carpe Tempus

Written by Roc Sherrell (BMTM Founder; Conductor of Conglomeration)

With water, wind, light, and thought as its fellows, time asserts itself as one of the five irrefutable, transcendental forces that shape our existence. Among the Transcendentals, Time carves its distinct niche, being the most slippery and demanding to seize and turn to good account, majorly due to its abstract construct and its role coloured by individual perception. Time is additionally particular in that each soul is granted but a finite measure, which remains undisclosed, immutable, and is destined to fade— yet before it does, it will be either astutely expended or thoughtlessly frittered away.

How do we carpe tempus?

To seize time, we must forgo marking its passage.

Grasping time grants us no true sway over its course, to deem otherwise is but a phantom. Rather, capturing time insists that we govern our very sense of it. The prowess to alter our sense of time's ticking is the sole marvel that permits us to truly harness it. Understanding that our perception of time stands only behind its ceaseless stride and the measured allotment given to each soul, we may start to distil time's very essence, which is to be as elusive as it is beyond our ken.

Our grasp on time, at its root, is shaped by the meticulous operations that transpire within varied sectors of the brain's prefrontal cortex. This suggests that, in harmony with our cerebral functions, we possess paramount influence in fashioning our understanding of time. Despite age, concentration, emotions, the world around, and our very actions wielding their effects on how we see time, the mantle falls upon the prefrontal cortex to assimilate and construe these influences, thereby shaping our sense of time's flow, or occasionally, eschewing it.

Should the prefrontal cortex be rendered inactive, our bearings on the been and the yet-to-be are lost, binding us to a timeless instant, commonly termed as ‘the flow state’ or ‘the deep now’— within the very core of this pressing instant, therein lies our power to grasp and craft time, be it for sagacious endeavours or reckless abandon.

Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who had no interest in philosophical theories about time because he believed that the present moment is all that truly exists, warns of the unease we burden ourselves with by directing concern and/or consideration toward the past and future:

“Beware of the disquiet that can follow from picturing your life as a whole. Don’t dwell on all the various kinds of troubles that have happened and are likely to happen in the future as well. No, focus on the present, and ask yourself whether there’s anything about the task before you that’s unbearable and insupportable… And then remind yourself that neither the future nor the past can weigh on you, but only the present… And rebuke your mind if it’s too feeble to endure something that’s so uncluttered.” (Meditations; Notebook 8.36)

Why, indeed, should we bother with the grand and noble endeavor to capture time?

To ensure that time’s perpetual motion bears witness to our distinct and purposeful imprint. To harvest the fruits of immersing ourselves into the depths of the present moment.

Summon to mind instances in your life when time did slip away unnoticed, and weigh if the pursuit you were so immersed in could be termed a judicious endeavor or a hasty folly. Endeavor, hence, to cultivate more of the former, for it is in those occasions that time is truly commandeered and shrewdly utilized.

Carpe Tempus

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