I saw the movie The Time Machine as a kid and immediately became obsessed with the idea of time travel. I held my breath as George departed, determined to make the future better, and his insightful botanist friend observed, “He has all the time in the world.” Then I swallowed the lump in my throat and rushed to the library to check out the H.G. Wells novel that (along with fellow steampunk Jules Verne’s works) formed the template for modern science fiction.
Years later, I was invited to a liquidation sale of props and costumes from the old MGM Studios. Some iconic items were available for absurdly low prices (back then no one considered them collectibles). These included Judy Garland’s ruby slippers and Scarlett O’Hara’s curtain dress. But the thing my eyes fixed upon was the time machine! The asking price was just $1300. Still, I was fresh out of college and that was almost half a year’s rent. So I shed a tear and walked away.
I still obsess over time travel, but my understanding has changed. First of all, I now realize that time travel is real. The relentless progression from past to future is a matter of perception. Time itself simply is. Have you ever heard someone say, “We visited the Grand Canyon, and it was breathtaking”? Why did they say “was”? Has the Grand Canyon ceased to exist? No, their experience of it has, but the Grand Canyon is still there. Are we like toddlers who think our mothers cease to exist when they leave the room?
Time simply is. If you look at our planet from the moon you can view the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China in one glance. No time is expended in looking from one to the other. The entire earth simply is. Better yet, when you look at the night sky you can see stars that currently exist “alongside” stars that exploded billions of years ago. Furthermore, quantum experiments show that particles can both exist and not exist at the same time, depending on the perspective from which they are viewed. Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Lucern, Switzerland have shown that particles travelling faster than light actually arrive at their destination before they left. In other words: in the past.
So, if space and time are one (and quantum mechanics says they are), then yesterday still exists. The implications are astounding: If the past is still there within the woof and
warp of spacetime, then anyone who has ever lived still is. Which means that to exist—even for a moment—is to live forever. Or at least until the next big bang (Isaiah 65:17). Hence, a narrow, destructive life is not just a shame, it’s a stain on eternity. And a generous, humane life is not just noble, it’s an immortal treasure.
You have all the time in the world.
So make it count.
Mitch
Well said and well written as usual.
Reminded me of another saying, “you have all the time in the world till you don’t!”
I often advise people to spend your Time with people who you
Like, Respect and Trust. That is Time well spent whether in person or
even in social media!
Brad
Brad James, The Business Zoo
Good advice. And thanks, Brad.
I wish there was a “love” button. This was amazing.
Aw, thank you, Heather!
Fascinating scientific explanation! Thanks for such a good post.
My own theory on time is that it is part of the creation. We live within it, but God created that too, he and the spirit world operate outside it, which answers the questions like “Who made God? Where did he come from?”
Time is a fascinating subject isn’t it!
Indeed, Claire! There are some intriguing terms used in Scripture to describe the spiritual realm. E.g. “the heavens of the heavens” (i.e. that which is beyond space just as space is beyond the earth). And Paul’s term “the third heaven” is clearly a reference to a non-material realm. So I think your theory is well-founded!
Ah! Another interesting subject!
This was also the last line in the Bond film On Her Majesties Secret Service.
I’ve always suspected James Bond was actually the time traveler from Wells’ book. Now we have proof!
What wonderful sentiments, Mitch! And what an amazing story you share. So, you were (still are, in a sense) at a fabulous MGM Studios auction that included Judy Garland’s ruby slippers! Well, I am a great fan of time travel as well. “Back to the Future” alone brought in the biggest audience to time travel ever and, as you say, the studio people saw no great value in the movie props. That magical DeLorean, the key vehicle in the film (as there were three cars) was left to be abused by the elements and the fans as little more than a side show exhibit at Universal Studios. It’s been completely restored since then. I hear that Judy Garland’s ruby slippers will soon be restored too. I wonder how the ole time machine is doing these days.
A props collector named Bob Burns now owns the time machine; he’s quite an authority on it and other film props: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOuZYe805m4
There are actually five pairs of ruby slippers, in varying condition–Judy danced the heck out of them.
My mind is blown right now. I love this post, I adore ideas that challenge common acceptance and that really pushes the limits of ‘what is possible’ and what has previously been said through history and faith.
Me too, Susan!
I’m not sure if your conclusion is fact but your argument is laser sharp. I’m impressed with the way you build one premise on another until the reader is hooked and left sputtering at the end trying to think of some way to refute your words. Also, you made a good argument without resorting to the “religion” card, except for that one quote. 😉
Hey, even scientists quoted that verse when the Big Bang Theory first gained wide acceptance in the 1970s. ;>) Thanks!
Also, there is no such thing as the present moment since by the time our brain is aware of it, the moment is past.
Actually, it’s best we not think of these things as they make our brain hurt.
I know what you mean, C.J. (and right you are about the present). I think the effect on my brain is more like: expand, hurt, rest, repeat. It’s worth it as long as I have those rest periods. ;>)
Time intrigues
Mitch, I often don’t read your posts because I know if I do you will make me think, and I’ll lose time that I should have spent on other projects. Then comes the day when I go back and catch up on the blogs I skipped. Because those are days I’ve shoved the tyranny of the urgent down the guilt chute, i read. Not time wasted, but time invested.
Donita, I’m honored that you find me significant enough to intentionally avoid. :>) Seriously, thank you!
Nice write…quite interesting.
Thank you, Ariana.
Yes we do have all the time in the world …rightly said and beautifully written… I saw the movie ‘Gone with the wind ‘ when I was a kid and I thought that Clark Gable looked like my dad ! Time Is …I saw and loved ‘The Dressmaker ‘ on the Air Mauritius flight from London Heathrow and now I know I will travel to Australia…you mention The Great Wall of China ‘…what a coincidence! I was in Beijing last August to visit the Beijing Book Fair and I climbed the Wall! I was surprised with myself that I did it.
Thanks for this awesome write up. Time Is! Love Is! ❤️
Thank you, Anita! And thanks for your thoughts, as well.
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I LOVE this movie and will watch it every time it comes on 🙂
Anything about time gets my attention.
The f/x are pretty creaky, but, yes, it has a permanent place in my heart. I got to meet the producer/director George Pal once (one of my early filmmaking heroes).
Oh wow! What an honor that must have been 🙂
Reblogged this on Odyssey of a Novice Writer and commented:
Okay, I am going to be upfront and just admit it: I have fallen in love with a BLOG.
Mitch Teemley has one of the best blogs I have come across since I have been traveling around the blogosphere. Mitch describes himself as a story teller (writer, filmmaker, public speaker). He brings a lot of his heart to his writing and his Christian perspective. He is never heavy handed – I like that. He makes a point, but with a fine touch – he will never bludgeon you with his point of view.
I enjoy Mitch’s posts the way I do a box of fine, expensive chocolate: I choose a serving each day and savor it. I hope you will check out his blog – it is really worth your time. To get you started, I am reblogging one of his posts.
Enjoy!
Honored, Kate! I suppose, if my posts are like chocolates, then the Gump principal applies, “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Blessings till it hurts.
I love your blog! It always gives me a lift! 👍
A wonderful post on many levels. I, too, fell in love with the idea of time travel after seeing that movie. The remake didn’t grab me nearly as much. I laughed a lot in the episode of Big Bang Theory where Sheldon or Leonard bought the time machine prop and placed it in their living room!
I think physics is redefining our concept of time, more revelations to come. Most of all, I liked the way you sequed to making time count. Lovely ending!
Thank you, Noelle! Yes, I seldom pass more than a day or two without thinking about our changing understanding of time.
Reblogged this on Mitch Teemley and commented:
Time travel is real, and I can prove it! But what does that mean for us?
Yes, the implications truly are astounding.
I think that one is (or anyhow might be, someone could check my logic on this) that if everything that ever was and is and will be is equally present to God, then it means that God can (from our point of view) still be operating on and changing the (from our point of view) past. Which means that there is still a lot of room for people to have made different decisions and for things to have worked out differently. When I think of knowing “God is working everything together for good to them that love God” etc., this is something I try to remember.
Yes! But what matters most, I think, is our character, and space-time seems to have a role to play even there. As we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us (James 4:8).
We know so little about God and his creation and how it works. I can’t wait to find out what we don’t know and can’t know.
Me too!
Wow. Fascinating, mind-expanding stuff. Spirit-expanding too as I contemplate the intricacies God masterminded in creating the universe. Awesome doesn’t begin to describe!
Exactly!
Wonderful post
Wonderful post on a subject that has Always fascinated me
Thanks, Luisa.
How does one secure an invitation to an MGM liquidation sale?!?
Actually, an entrepreneur had bought all of those items and created a travelling Hollywood Movie Museum (half a dozen semi-truck trailers), and then gone broke. He was selling them off–to anyone who was interested–at a corner lot in Anaheim, CA, not far from where I lived.
Fabulous opportunity!
isaiah 90:42
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Wonderful post! Yesterday still is and so are memories.
Love the way you have made time eternal, Mitch. My heart has been going “Tick tick Boom” lately with the never ending to-do lists and unfinished drafts of writing but your post gave me a sense of calm.
Aw, happy to provide a bit of calm for you, Harshi.