We hear it said everywhere: “Time flies,” “Times have changed,” or “That was another time.” But what if we’ve been looking at time all wrong? What if time doesn’t move at all… and we are the ones passing through it?
Far from abstract metaphor, this is a shift that can change how you live, how you forgive, and how you plan your future.
Let us begin with an excerpt from a spiritual text:
“Time passes! Times change! We hear this said everywhere, and automatically a picture arises in the spirit: We see changing times marching past us! ...
Time! Does it really pass? Why does one encounter obstacles when thinking more deeply about this axiom? Simply because the fundamental idea is wrong; for time stands still! We, however, hurry towards it!”
These lines urge us to pause and reconsider one of the most familiar concepts in human experience: time. We often think of time as something that slips through our fingers like sand, as a relentless current carrying us forward. But what if this common belief is flawed? What if time doesn’t actually pass at all? What if, instead, we are the ones in motion, moving through something eternal, unmoving, and all-encompassing?
In modern thought, time is typically understood as linear, a straight line from past to present to future. The clock ticks, days turn to nights, and years roll forward. But deeper philosophies, from the ancient to the mystical, suggest something radically different. They propose that time is not a river flowing past us, but a vast, unchanging field through which we journey.
Imagine time as an immense, eternal library. Each moment, past, present, or future is a book already written, already shelved. You, the traveler, are simply walking aisle by aisle, encountering one volume after another. The books do not vanish once you read them, nor do the unwritten ones suddenly spring into existence. They are all there. Time stands still. We move.
This perspective is not without precedent. Einstein’s theory of relativity hints at something similar, suggesting that time is not fixed or absolute, but interwoven with space in a way that depends on motion and perspective. Even quantum physics entertains models where the future may be as real as the past..
What does this mean for our daily lives?
It means we must stop seeing ourselves as victims of time. We are not being chased by it. We are walking through it, shaping our experience by how we move, what we carry, and where we look. Instead of lamenting the “passing” of time, we might better ask: How am I showing up as I move through it?
It means we can let go of regrets about the past. That chapter hasn’t disappeared, it is part of the eternal record. We can return to its lessons, redeem its meanings. It also means we should not fear the future. It, too, exists in the continuum of time, and how we prepare now determines what we will find there.
Most importantly, it invites us to become more present. If time is not fleeting but always there, then this moment is not slipping away. It is here. Full. Sacred. Waiting for you to step into it with clarity, intention, and reverence.
So the next time you feel rushed, worn down by the pace of life, or haunted by the past, remember this: time is not fleeing, you are walking through it. The question is not, “Where did the time go?” but “Where am I going in time?”
This simple shift in understanding can be profoundly transformative. It returns responsibility to us, not as clock-watchers, but as pilgrims of eternity. Let us walk with more awareness, live more fully, and carry with us the knowing that every step forward is a choice, and every moment is a door.
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