5 Inspirational Understandings About the Concept of Time

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Welcome Back to SVO Street Smarts!

Today is the start of a new semester for Dr. Savant & Co. at San José State University !

After some time away, I am eager to get back to our regularly-scheduled program of weekly expositions about seemingly-simple life concepts that have catastrophic possibilities within the subjectivity of humanity. Put differently, Street Smarts is all about the general discussion of everyday things that we experience when walking the streets--and making sense of them in a way to help us seek a deeper understanding of how the concepts manifest in our day-to-day lives.

I feel that there is no greater concept to kick us off for Fall 2024 than to talk about the very thing that took me away from this newsletter for several weeks: TIME.

Now of course, by time...I am not talking about the world-renowned TIME publication that has spanned more than a century of publication (although that too is a grand point of analysis and indungence). Here, I am talking about that erie little concept that no one ever has, yet everyone uses to conduct every aspect of their lives. I was taking a walk in downtown San Francisco the other day, listening to the song "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish (an absolute classic; shoutout to my friend Nikolas R. Webster, Ph.D. ) and it got me thinking about this concept...and how it legitimately dictates our neurological understanding of life itself. You see, most of us think of time as the small numbers (and hands) that occupy the many clocks (or watches) that surround every space. From the digits on our Apple Watch to the number on our Google Maps Platform app that tell us our estimated 'time' of arrival (ETA) to our next meeting/outing/location...our lives are run based on time...but what does that mean? What do we make of such a nebulous concept and how do we make sense of it in real 'time?'

Without an understanding of our most precious resource, we run the risk of missing some of life's most remarkable lessons, so let's cover a few things.

Here are five inspirational thoughts on the concept of time.

1. Time Management is of the Utmost Importance - It has been said that we all get the same amount of time in a day, but the difference is how we choose to spend it. This is not to say that all of us actually get the same amount of time on earth because we all understand that none of us know how much time we really get. Rather, this is more of a reminder that we do all get the same 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week (7 days). Instead of wasting moments and memories, we must be careful and place time management at the top of our priorities and spend our moments wisely. We would be foolish to spend our most finite resource doing anything other than the things that we love, that fulfill us, and that feed our soul.  
2. With time, comes the inevitability of change - We must remember that as much as we may want things to say the same, even staying in the same spot will cause things to change because time and life will force anything and everything to whither. That said, it will be most helpful for us to remember to be open to the concept of change as a necessary counterpart to time. Things will most definitely change, but change can be good if we embrace the joys of growth and prosperity that come with change! The only way that happens, is if we embrace that with time, change is bound to happen. 
3. Present is a present - The unfortunate reality when thinking about the progression of life and chasing one's dreams, is the undeniable fact that we will all have a season where we have to move away from everyone we know and love. As I have told a few of you in person, it is a virtual certainty at this point because it is an acknowledgement/reminder that you left where you left for a reason (which is usually opportunity). It has been 10 years since I have lived in the same area as my family and I can tell you, the time that we get to spend together is the best present that I receive every year. I invite all of you to remember that the time we have together is limited and with that, remember that there is nothing more important than being present with those we love. Think of it this way: if you knew that you would only get to see someone another 3 times before you clock out, how would you change the way you spend time with them? Let that sink in. 
4. Quality over quantity - As I’m sure many of you are aware, quality time is one of the five love languages (according to the creator of 5 Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman) because more times than not, nothing can replace some quality time with people that we love. In fact, quality time has been known to XXX.  I personally learned this from living all over the world, especially in the times where I have vehemently decided not to stay put because I thought that I needed to continually be on the move and ‘chase’ the good times. Little did I know, focusing on the depths of quality times is far more rewarding (and fulfilling) than chasing the quantity of superficial times spent with people we don’t really care about too (and who don’t care too much about us).
5. The best things in life transcend time - Remember the old saying, “time flies when you’re having fun?” Although it’s cliche, I am a firm believer that sometimes, a little bit of cliche can light up the entire world. In this case, we must remember that part of our goal in this life should be to capture as many of those timeless moments as possible. You know, the moments when you are rolling on the floor laughing hysterically with your best mates or perhaps those timeless moments when you are staring into the eyes of someone you love and everything else in the world seems to disappear. Yes, I am talking about those moments and admittedly, those are the best uses of our time because they make us feel that for a moment…we are more alive and free than any moment before.

There's a bit in the song "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish that goes a little something like this (shoutout to Genius )

Can you teach me about tomorrow, and all the pain and sorrow, running free? 'Cause tomorrow's just another day...And I don't believe in time.

By this excerpt, I surmise that the artist is asking time to teach him (and his friends) about the ways that time can just keep on going amidst the pain and sorrow that never seems to end...but he ends by saying that 'tomorrow is just another day, and I don't believe in time." This could mean that time is actually an illusion, but illusion or not, it is our most precious resource and we must be intentional in remembering that although it's something we don't understand...it is and important resource that we must spend wisely.

For many of us, time is a blessing that we may or may not take for granted and I would like for all of us to take a moment and truly think about how valuable of a resource that we may be casually breezing over on a daily basis! Let's try our best to be present and enjoy the time that we have with our friends, family, loved ones, colleagues, pets...hell, everyone! Tomorrow is just another day, but it's a blessing if we get to live it (especially with some Moët & Chandon in hand, of course) 🥂

Cheers, folks.

-Dr. Savant 🌹