Sunday 8 July 2018

Integrated developments

"If you know your history
Then you would know where you're coming from"
Bob Marley and The Wailers


As the world and life move forward, it is often too tempting to sit back and linger with fragments of time passed. Revisiting moments that are no more and events that died long ago has the soothing appeal of a comfortable discussion. Yet, what we look for is not an explanation or a commemoration, but a entry point for future deliberations.


The matter of facts


Once upon the time, something happened: at a place, at a time, among people. and for many reasons. We have lived through these situations and have observed, retained, reflected on what they meant for us, for others and many more to come. For a while, it might seem like all is done and clarity has been found: no more dwelling on the past, "time to move on", etc. And this is the only available option in this life: time sets us in motion so that arresting its developments is out of the question.

Brain diagram with post-it note

However, when the clock ticks, it does not tell me whether I'm gone up or down, left or right. Time has no cardinality, and this is why to be lost in time is more enticing than to be thrown out in space. As we get pushed forward by the arrow of time, our collection of experiences grow, and it soon becomes vital to take a break and reorganise the backyard of our existence. The longer we live, the farther we have been, the more pressing this burden is.


Doddles and puzzles


So, it comes off as a surprise that the littlest moment of recollection has very little to do with time. Since imagination is not spacetime-bound, it can travel beyond what was, is or will be. It knows no limit of reason, logic, emotion or organisation. Therefore, diving into our memories relieves us as well as it relives what our mind has in store. For some people, it is all about reassuring themselves that they still have their sanity and traditions intact. For others, it is the chance to explore hidden meanings and patterns that can be used for future predictions.


Sadhguru's takes on memory and imagination


And this is why looking back is never a definite position, nor a sustainable option. In times of crises, backpedaling serves no other purpose but to help re-establish grounded foundations for incoming tribulations. After running through time and space, we get lost in our internal landscape, we don't hold onto our own clock anymore. That is the perfect moment to give way to our imagination and bring forward the designs of our own creation. Simplifying complexity systematically reveals order in the apparent chaos: life is clearly our lesson in applied alchemy.