I think about time, all the time. Ever since I have memory, I think about time. What is it exactly? I still don't know what the answer is. Today, the best idea I have about time is that time is movement, movement is energy... work. Cause and effect, the order of things, what has to be done first and what happens next.
There are people I know that feel lost, hopeless, and have a cynical approach to life. Most of them have decent jobs, are physically attractive, no big tragedies in their lives. They still feel there's something missing.
My theory is that most of these people, some of whom I love dearly, are confused about how time works. We humans are not creatures of thought, we are creatures of action. Actions create thoughts. Thoughts should be the consequence of your actions. Actions come first, thoughts come second. It rarely works the opposite way, but most of us think otherwise--we believe we are rational beings, and that every action we take is the result of our deliberate thoughts. I disagree.
I have a natural repulsion for planning. I do plan, I do strategize, but at the end, we need to jump in the water to learn how to swim. You can't learn how to swim by reading books about it. You can't run all possible scenarios in your head and rationally decide the best course of action. The complexity of life is greater that what we like to think.
Thoughts follow actions. If you are not happy, if you are unsatisfied, you probably have pessimistic thoughts (a tragedy is just around the corner kind of thoughts). Deep inside you know there's no hope. But you can't change these thoughts, you can't change your mindset, by just trying to change it in your head. You can change your thoughts be thinking about it. But you can change your thoughts by changing your actions. Change what you do everyday, small things, and your thoughts will follow. If I want to "learn" how to swim, if I want to "know" how to swim, I jump in the water and swim.
Time is all we have. Thoughts are not work, thoughts are not energy. Action is work, movement, energy. Any real change requires action, movement. Thoughts are a by-product of your actions. Fix your actions, and you fix your thoughts and feelings.
I love Herman Hesse from the first time I stumbled upon his work. This is from the Steppenwolf, a quote that has been with me for the last 25 years.
“Most men will not swim before they are able to.” Is that not witty? Naturally, they won't swim! They are born for the solid earth, not for the water. And naturally they wont think. They are made for life, not for thought. Yes, and he who thinks, what’s more, he who makes thought his business, he may go far in it, but he has bartered the solid earth for the water all the same, and one day he will drown.”