What is our relationship with time?

4 October 2022

2022-06-15-CE312-ITW-Evron-don-Jean-Remi-Lanavere-(C)-sanctuaire-Montligeon
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send by mail Imprimer

What is our relationship with time? Is time a mere material that we can dispose of as we please? Analysis by Fr. Don Lanavère, priest of the Community of Saint-Martin and professor of philosophy at the Community’s seminary.

What is our relationship with time?

Fr. Don Jean-Rémi Lanavère

Our relationship with time is somewhat contradictory and we tend to relate to it in a similar fashion as any other resource at our disposal. On one hand, the world is mesmerized by its boundless aspect, for time stretches out and seems to be endlessly expanding. Longer life-expectancy , more free time attest to it. In many aspects of our life, we feel as if we have “all the time in the world”.

On the other hand, many people feel a kind of scarcity of time, as if it were retracted. Nowadays, we live in an emergency regime. For example in politics, everything is urgent : emergency measures, states of emergency, climate emergency. And is not urgency but reduced time that becomes scarce?

Yet, on the opposite side of such a torment, the ecological awareness of time stand point: the aspiration to reposition time so that it no longer generates suffering or oppression, but becomes the correlation of a more peaceful association, that takes into account the long term as well as the upcoming and “future” generations. The key is to maintain a healthier connection with time, so as to step out of this acceleration that we seem to endure.

What is the acceleration of time in the modern world due to?

Pope Francis refers to this topic in his encyclical, Laudato si’ (n°18). Furthermore, the analysis of Hartmut Rosa, German philosopher and sociologist, are quite edifying. Among his explanations on the acceleration of time, one of his most conclusive one supports that we live in a secularized world which refers only to itself in itself and no longer to a Totally-other (God). Thus, time is no longer referred to eternity, hence fulfillment of life is solely to be found in time.

So? If the meaning of life is not to oneself in regard to eternity but solely in time, one is therefore compelled to increase positive experiences within the given time-span, in order to reach happiness. Hence this acceleration and the endless race to constantly multiply potential experiences.

According to Hartmut Rosa, in multiplying technical means so as to diminish unavoidable frustrations, in connection with what we can do and what we have to relinquish, in a given time span, bring us to develop ranges of possibles and thus, of subsequent unavoidable choices. For example, the multiplication of the TV channels enhances both the possibilities to watch various programs as well as the frustration of never been able to entirely watch it all.

Likewise for holidaying, the will to benefit at the utmost from vacation turns it into a source of stress more than a time of relaxation. It’s a catch 22. People feel they have more and more free time and intend to make the most of it. This tension initiates conflicting pressures in total opposition with content and fulfillment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most read posts

Notre-Dame Libératrice

Prayer to Our Lady of Montligeon

Our Lady of Deliverance, Have compassion on all our departed,Especially those who are most in need of the Lord’s mercy.Intercede for all those who have gone before usAnd may the purifying love of God lead them to full deliverance.May our prayer, united with the prayer […]

Read post

Resurrection, reincarnation, what’s the difference?

Reincarnation or metempsychosis are trendy in our Western societies. These beliefs steeped in Buddhism and Hinduism confess an afterlife and a righteousness that rewards our acts at the end of our earthly life. This assertion is shared by the Christian faith in the resurrection. However, […]

Read post

To see also

Inscription à
la fraternité

>

Continue reading

Frère Luc de Tibhirine et la mort.

Brother Luke of Tibhirine and death

Bro. Luke was one of the seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine murdered in 1996 in Algeria. His writings reveal his perception of death, his hope as well as his fearlessness with regards to dying. Through his writings, he left us a piece of good news regarding death.

Lire l'article
Don Paul Denizot, recteur de Montligeon et Guillaume Desanges, RCF

Is remaining hopeful still possible amidst collapse?

Crises économiques et politiques, drames personnels, deuils, ruptures…, quand tout s’effondre autour de nous, l’espérance nous est-elle d’un grand secours ?

Lire l'article

Do we have to go to purgatory prior to entering Heaven?

Do we have to go to purgatory prior to entering Heaven?  A frightful perspective as we imagine purgatory to be a place of tremendous suffering. Yet it is a kind of “patching up” after death. What is it about? Behind such a question often hides […]

Lire l'article
Subscribe to the newsletter