I took that phrase from C.S. Lewis’ book “The Screwtape Letters”, where it is explained that we all travel towards the future at the rate of 60 minutes per hour. Looking at our present moments, many of us are willing to bet that it definitely doesn’t feel that way. Of course it doesn’t. We are all rather poor at estimating how much time passes. Heck, even our perceptions of time not only differ from person to person, but even change according to circumstances. We have all noticed that time seems to slow down when we want it to go faster. The last five minutes before the final school bell rings are the longest ones – at least, if you are bored out of your mind. On the other hand, when you are having fun, the time seems to fly by.
(Speaking of which, why is it phrased as time “flying” by? Is it because that is the quickest method of transportation that can be imagined? Or does it just sound better than time “driving” by, or time “rocketing” by?)
So we all progress into the future at 60 minutes per hour. I could say 24 hours per day or 7 days a week, but 60 minutes per hour has that familiar look, similar to a speed limit, say 60 miles per hour. And this is important, because whether we are moving or sitting still we are travelling somewhere, whether or not we want to.
Journeys Take Time
For some people, this is fine, though for others it is unacceptable. Yet this is the human condition, to be bounded by time. For example, to go on a journey means to take the time to travel from one destination to another. We look at a map and decide where to go, and figure out how long it will take to get there, then we pick our method of transportation. The task at hand becomes a multi-dimensional task, in space and in time.
It doesn’t matter if we’re bored, or tired, or annoyed, or excited, or happy, since we want to get to a place at a certain time. So we could be trudging down a dirt path with sore feet and a bent back, but still travel at 60 minutes per hour. We could also be sitting down taking a break and travelling at 60 minutes per hour. By resting instead of moving, some may say that we are wasting time. But how can we waste time when we all go through it at the same pace?
“Life is a journey” is an often-repeated saying. I mentioned it last week. But not only did we not choose it, we have no control of the “speed” at which we go through it. Unless you die, you have no choice but to go through the trip. You might do nothing but eat and sleep, but you still have a life to live. Does this bring us any hope? It should.
“Time” Management
Since we are all travelling at the same rate through time, we only have to work on what we actually do in that time. There is no need to worry about saving time, about time management, about scheduling time, about wasting time. All these attempts to control time are really just about deciding what actions to take. Setting things for the future just means we either cannot do anything about them yet, or more likely with many of us, do not want to do anything about them just yet.
This is simple to imagine when procrastinating. We allocate all the work to our future selves, not truly understanding that our “future self” is just us having not yet travelled that far into the future. If we do not change anything about ourselves now we will not be any different if we travel at 60 minutes per hour into the future, so why even try to delay the action? Why not just admit you do not want to do it?
But we probably have to do these things, though we do not want to do them now. So we make excuses and plan out our time and manage our workloads. But by doing that we ignore the present for the future. Really, when we think about it, all we have is the present. Some people say that it is not good to be in the present moment, or to live for the present. Certainly, if you live as if only the present matters, then you may not be ready for the future. However, if you only think about the future you will not focus on the present and the actions you could take now.
Let us be honest, unless you have a vacation coming up when you think about the future you are thinking about future problems. On the other hand, to go about your day always thinking that the future will be better without clear goals and a plan may not help you either.
Living IN the Present
So we should use our present moments better? Yes, but to be more clear, using our present moments better does not have to mean always working. If we are doing something, then we should focus on it. If we are presently enjoying life, hanging out with friends, playing games, or reading a good book, then we should keep our attentions on those things, not worrying about what the future will hold.
Of course, there are many things people have to worry about, like having to pick up someone at a certain time, or making it to an appointment. The idea is once we know what we need to do, we should not have our heads stuck in the future while the rest of our being is living in the present. I think that would be a horrible way of living life. I know it definitely would be a poor way to go on a journey. Imaging going for a long walk and just thinking about where you will stop for lunch and if there will be a place to sit and if your feet will be okay and if it will rain or not. I cannot imagine spending all that time outside and coming away with nothing. I could have worried about all of those things without even leaving my house.
Of course, you would not have worried about those things if you stayed at home, but if you were going to leave it than you should either be ready or place your trust in something besides an unknown future, though whether you place your trust in God or fate or your abilities and skills and knowledge is up to you.
Worrying About the Future Exposes You to Problems
Worrying about the future opens you up to problems. Besides the fact that you will have a problem focusing on the present, you will be spending your 60 minutes an hour on things that do not exist. You might say, “Not yet, anyways” but unless those things will actually happen, then why worry about them? While we do want to do things in the present in order to prepare for the future, just the act of worrying and thinking about the future AS IF it were already here is not conductive to a good life.
People like to go faster, travel faster, move faster, work faster. Some people like the thrill of moving quickly, while others like the fact that we can get more done. When we break down speed it just means distance over time. So moving faster is getting further over the same period of time. Working faster is getting more done over the same period of time.
But what if I said that for many things in our lives, people do not want to get more done for a period of time, but to spend less time on those things while spending more time on other, more important things? It makes sense. Not everyone likes the work they do. They would rather be somewhere else than at work. And it is not like they can spend less time there. They have to work 9-5, so working faster would not do anything to alleviate the condition of being at work. This is unfortunate, but it is also a fact of life.
People Without a Future
Just imagine your whole history was erased, and your existing commitments demolished. The future is still coming at the rate of 60 minutes per hour, but now there is no future. I think many of us moderns would go insane at the idea. What should I be doing? What plans do I need to create? I think it would be maddening for some people not to know the future. But interestingly enough, there are a large number of people living in the world right now who do not have a “future”. As in, they do not really imagine a future, whether it is good or bad. They do not live for the future. They just live.
These people are children. Children usually do not worry about the future, unless they have a reason to worry, for example an upcoming test. Conversely, they do not go around imaging wonderful futures for themselves, unless they are told they will be going to Disney World next week. Despite not really thinking about the future, these subset of people get along just fine. They learn quickly and are quite absorbed in what they are doing in the present moment, sometimes to the detriment of their caretakers. They could be focusing on that video game way too hard, but on the bright side, they might concentrate on doing their homework or their karate form or their musical piece with the same focus and determination.
Peering Into the Future
Children are really curious in that regard, and I do not think it is solely because they do not know that they have to be worried about the future. Of course, they do not have bills to pay or jobs to keep or children to feed. But there is something about how they just play and read and eat and live that is all in the moment. Everything they do is in the present moment, though as they grow older you can begin to see how thoughts about the future affect their state of mind.
A boy might wonder if a girl will say yes if he invites her to a dance. A girl may wonder if she will have a high enough mark to be accepted to university. A youngster may fear the next day of school because a bully is always waiting for him. I do not think looking into the future is natural for people, despite the fact we do it all the time. Conversely, enjoying the present moment should be natural, but the action has been rendered weak by our lack of practice.
The Future is Heaven or Hell
We should focus in on the present moment. We have all heard that before. There is another lesson here which may be a bit harder to digest, but it goes like this: Stop treating the future as a fantasy land. Our worries stretch out and magnify our grievances; likewise our dreams expand our hopes. In the future anything is possible, but compared to our present existences the future represents heaven and hell.
And it does not have to be the real Heaven and Hell either. It can just be the things we like or dislike magnified by uncertainty and enhanced by our imaginations to represent our views on the most wonderful place and the worst place for each of us. To avoid suffering in our personal hells we should pay attention to our present moments. To avoid being disappointed by our hopes of our personal heavens we should also pay attention to our present moments. Like it or not, the future will come anyways, at the rate of 60 minutes per hour.
Random Remarks
This post is a bit chaotic and yet repetitious because I wrote it using The Most Dangerous Writing App. I think I discovered it while searching up methods of improving one’s writing skills. Give it a whirl if you would like to try your hand at writing.
You are forced to keep writing. If you stop typing for longer than 5 seconds all of your progress is erased. You set a timer or a word count so what you write can be saved after you reached your goal. While I think it is more useful for creative writing I have been putting it to use for other purposes. Like this here blog post for starters. Though I do not think it is good I at least wrote more than 1,500 words on this topic. Especially without degenerating into mumbling often repeated platitudes about “time is money” and “haste makes waste” and so forth. So give it a try!