Consistency.

Google it’s meaning… hmmmm.

OK, what does consistency mean to me?

In video production we use one camera. To get the appearance of using multiple cameras we re-shoot the same scene from different angles using the same camera. “Continuity” then becomes critical. Say we shoot an actor sitting down on a chair and he crosses his legs as he gets comfortable. The one in charge of “continuity” better notice that he crossed his left leg over his right and not the other way around. It’s all about the illusion, keeping things consistent with the previous shot.

What has this to do with time or consistency? It’s natural to tie the past, present and future together. But how are they connected? How are they connected?? There is only one connection and that is in the now, the present, is what exists. Their consistency, their continuity is a result of their presence in the now and the power that enables them to create the tensed fact of their existence. It is unalterable. Tensed facts are being created constantly. Cause and effect define their continuity and consistency. Choice, allows them to be productive or destructive.

When you realize the moment is absolutely unique and therefore priceless you begin to pay much more attention to the now.

Time? What I know.

“The true currency of life is time, not money, and we’ve all got a limited stock of that.” 

– Robert Harris

Time, a cruel master. Wait a moment and you have one less to work with. Time, the older you get the faster it passes. At some point you realize it's going to run out for you. But... why is that an issue? Why would you care? Maybe you think I need more time? Time for what? Change? Why do I think I need to change? Something about time makes me think... now is the time. Now is the time to be what I should be.

If you think time is real then you think you have a future. Our mind can anticipate what we call the future and we put our hope in it. Hope in the future gives us an excuse to put off the truth of the now.

If you know "Now" is all that exists, you'll pay much more attention to it. You'll cherish the moment because it is unique, priceless and then gone. You can now take full advantage of the opportunity the moment is providing you.

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”

– Harvey Mackay

Chaos Theory, Choices, Decisions and Actions.

Who we will become is determined by our choices, decisions and actions. The choices, decisions and actions that we take in the now create facts that cannot be altered.

In chaos theory, the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location, reveals that even a small action has the potential for an extraordinary consequence.

The "Now" is what exists. Reality is the cosmological temporality of tensed facts that are created in the "Now". A fact cannot be altered. Change is a constant in the "Now". The illusion of time is created by this observance of change brought about by movement. The movement is deterministic outside of our ability to choose. Choice is what gives us the ability to be creative. But it is also the ability to destroy.

Who we can be is not yet determined because we still have the ability to choose. Past facts cannot be altered yet potential still exists. We can choose to tear down or to buildup. There is no other choice before us.

On our deck again

The night was beautiful. The moon, a few days from full, still lit up the cloudless night. I recalled similar nights in northern British Columbia and how the blanket of snow made the night luminous. Hudson, my son, echoed this image as he told how one early morning in winter he came out on the deck and was amazed at how bright and glowing everything was because the moon was shining bright. His regret, "I didn't stay longer".

It was a "stop and smell the roses" moment. I shared about how we'll never be here again. How when we miss seeing the blessing of the moment, the moment is gone.

We sat there watching the embers of the fire glow as it burnt down. I was compelled to reminisce back to the time, as a young boy, I had a miniature deck of cards that I had got from a bubblegum machine. How I had worked hard at separating each card. How I had demanded my Mom come and play with me. How I had threatened her with the destruction of the deck if she didn't come and play, now! She was busy cooking supper. Another moment, but not so Rosey.

I made a choice. As I ripped up the deck of cards, she came into the living room and said: "OK, lets play cards".

The sense of loss was magnified by the realization there was nothing I could do, the deck of cards was gone. Then the realization... It was my fault. Another moment, yes. But oh, the regret, the sense of loss!

Well, what has that to do with our study of time? Hmmm?

I exist. I exist in a continuity. The continuity of the continuum is big. There is incomprehensible complexity in the continuity that exists in the totality of the now. Now is dynamic, it changes with every moment. "Now" is tensed, its change is in one direction. This moment exists in the temporality of God. What was, will never come again.

What is a 6-year-old to do? The moment is gone, never to be recovered. My own choice brought upon me an unanticipated consequence. A sense of loss beyond compare. Is there a lesson to be learned?

Well, of course there is.

A conversation with my son.

As we sat on the deck, enjoying the fire we were watching in the fire pit, I asked Harrison, my son, what words he would use to describe everything that was happening in the universe at this particular moment. He seemed confused, my question held no context.

 I said look at the fire, what is happening there?

We started talking about oxidization and chemical reactions inherent in the fire. How would you describe the fire? We realized there is a lot of information generated by a fire and how to describe it accurately.

I asked him, as we watched the fire burn, what do you think is happening now to the stars in a galaxy on the other side of the universe? He said, "they are moving".

Now think about all the galaxies right now, what words would you use to describe everything that was happening in the universe at this particular moment. He said "overwhelming".

It was then I began to tap his knee. Every few seconds I would tap his knee. I said it looks like I am touching your knee repeatedly. He said yeh, you keep touching my knee over and over again. I said look at the fire, I'll touch your knee again. Was that the same as when I touched your knee earlier? Harrison said no, the fire was different. So each time I touch your knee it's different? Yes, each time you touch my knee it's unique.

I asked Harrison, "What does it mean that something is unique"? He said, "it's one of a kind." I asked him "if it's one of a kind, does that make it valuable"? We considered such...

Harrison is 11 and a half.

Every moment is unique, it will never be repeated. Its value is incomprehensible.

All that exists in the Now.

The interaction of all that exists. How do we describe this interaction? Do we see it in its totality? No. Is any part separate from any other part? No.

The interaction of mass and energy going on in my brain as I write this is correspondent to the movement of stars in a far off galaxy. Any moment in the continuum of our Universe when viewed as a whole is unrepeatable and completely unique.

Unrepeatability. Nothing is repeatable. Nothing is repeatable. Nothing is repeatable. Everything happens in context to everything else. Everything, as a whole, is dynamic and temporal, Because God is dynamic and temporal. Our experience dynamically exists in the eternal temporality of God.

The eternal temporality exists in an uniqueness of tensed facts. These facts have causality that is determinate outside of the creative ability of life to choose. Choice can over-ride determinate causality. This choice creates the realm of "possibilities" for creative innovation.

As we see the uniqueness of each moment, as we understand this moment will never happen again, we can begin to fully appreciate the great value of the moment we are in.

Now we can take full advantage of the opportunity the moment is providing us.

The speed of light. Space?

It is very hard to see the now. In fact, none of us can see it in its totality. Why is this? Because the facts of now are only accessed by us through the the delay that is inherent in the speed of light that slows the acquistion of facts. This delay that comes from the limitation of light's speed creates the illusion of time.

This constant; the speed of information transmittal, creates the illusion of space. Space, what is it? How can galaxy's be moving away from us faster then the speed of light?

If information of events reached me instantaneously would I perceive space? Would it have any meaning to me?

If light where faster would things seem closer to me?

Here's an idea. Before the big bang, light reached everywhere instantaneously. After the big bang light began to slow down. As light slowed down space was created. Distance became real.