Playing Catch-up (by Billy Coffey)
image courtesy of photobucket.com
Having any sort of conversation with a college student majoring in philosophy is a bit of a crap shoot, especially when that student is just smart enough to get himself into trouble.
For instance.
Our subject of conversation today concerns the basic truths of getting by in life that are found all of the world’s religions. The Golden Rule, for instance, is found in each of the major faiths. So is the commandment to love thy neighbor and take care of the less fortunate.
And somewhere in all that commonness is the idea that we should all live in the present. That past is done and the future is beyond our knowing. All we have, all that we can sense, is the now. Jason has a problem with that. Which is not so amazing.
“We can’t live in the present,” he tells me. “It’s impossible.”
I take a sip of coffee and a deep breath, knowing I’ll need more of both before I get to leave.
“Sure we can,” I tell him. “I’m not sittin’ here yesterday or tomorrow, I’m sittin’ here now. And so are you.”
“Not really,” he answers.
Another sip and another deep breath.
He continues: “You’re looking at me now, but it’s not me you’re seeing.”
“You hurt my brain, Jason,” I say. “It’s way too early for this. Why can’t we ever talk about trucks or mulch like normal guys?”
“Shut up, this is important. You’re looking at me now, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“No,” he says. For a fleeting moment he takes on a spastic look of someone both thoroughly confused and happy to be so. “You’re not! You’re looking at me, but not me now.”
“I’m pretty sure I hate you,” I answer. I can say these sorts of things because Jason has always ignored them. He ignores it this time, too.
“It takes nanoseconds for the electrical impulses from the eye to reach the brain and translate what’s being seen. By that time, the moment’s gone. Don’t you see what that means? We’re all stuck in the past.”
I wrinkle my brow.
“That sunshine out there? That’s not sunshine now, that’s light that left the sun eight minutes ago,” he said.
“So that sunshine is from the past?”
“YES! And you’re hearing my words, but you’re really not hearing them now.”
I was starting to see where he was going with this. “Because it takes microseconds for them to get from you to me.”
“And microseconds more for your brain to process them.”
“It’s taking longer than microseconds, Jason.”
He takes a long sip of his coffee and studies me. “This stinks, doesn’t it?”
If Jason is right (and I have no reason to suspect he’s wrong), then I suppose it really is sort of awful. Maybe we can’t live in the present. Maybe we’re doomed to exist in a perpetual state of not-quite-here. Maybe the best we’re ever going to be able to do is always lag just a little behind.
We sit together in silence, contemplating roasted beans and the depths of reality.
“What do you think?” he asks.
“I think you’re a strange little man.”
“Funny,” he says. But as he says it rather than laughs it, I’m starting to think that maybe he’s taking this much more seriously than he should.
“This is really bothering you?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says. “I know it shouldn’t. I know it’s really pretty stupid. Right?”
“I’m gonna go with…yes.”
“Can I tell you something?” Jason whispered.
“As long as it isn’t anything like what you’ve just told me.”
“I hate philosophy. I thought it would make me a better person, you know? Get me thinking more. But I don’t like thinking more.”
(I understand. I don’t think much a lot of the time. It doesn’t suck.)
“What’s the use?” he continues. “I mean, why bother? With anything?”
We sit and sip. Eventually the conversation does change to things I can understand—the trucks and mulch. But in the back of my mind, I’m still thinking about what he said.
Maybe Jason is right, we can’t live in the present. Maybe we’re all in a cosmic game of catch-up.
It would explain a lot.
To read more from Billy Coffey, visit him at his blog What I Learned Today and follow him on twitter at @BillyCoffey
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Wow-way to deep for my brain today.
Hope you are encouraging this fellow to find something that will make him happy.
.-= susie @newdaynewlesson´s last blog ..Even If You’re A Pacifist- Remember You Owe Your Right To Be One To Those Who Served In Your Country’s Military =-.
I wish I’d listened and got my coffee first. This is so, so good. How do you do it?
.-= Sandra Heska King´s last blog ..Blog Birthday Reflections =-.
Trucks & mulch–nice. A very King Soloman conversation. Maybe we’re always a little here, there and everywhere. I think coffee helps me be more here.
Loved this!
~ Wendy
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..Hungry for the Story =-.
This reminded me of the fact that if you only move half the distance toward something, and then half that distance again, and then again, and so on, then you will never ever actually arrive there.
That pretty much sums up so much of my life. So often I feel like I am ten steps behind, more often then I want to really admit.
.-= Sharon´s last blog ..In Need of Color =-.
I thought of the book of Ecclesiastes when reading this, specifically Ecc. 1:18.
For in much human wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Ah yes, in the speed of light we lose the moment and become lost in yesterday.
But really, our brains can’t process at the speed of light so it’s good we can only see in the now what we saw before. Gives us a chance to catch up!
Great post Billy. Now, if I could just speed up my thinking and my typing, who knows where I’d be?
.-= Louise´s last blog .. =-.
Psalm 139 “Where can I go from your Spirit?…
I pretty sure that includes our past (nano seconds or otherwise) our present and future. Being still in the moment, enjoying the present is possible because it is fluid expression of being with Him.
Of course…I just made my head hurt. Thanks for stretching me this
morning!
.-= Jay Cookingham´s last blog ..Sabbath Rest Musings =-.
In The Princess and the Frog, Prince Naven says to Tiana while floating away with some balloons, “You know, if you are going to let every little thing bother you, it’s going to be a long night.” At some point, Jason is going to have to stop letting every little thing bother him. Gee whiz.
.-= Rebekah @ It Only Gets Better´s last blog ..Weekend Recap 6 Days Late =-.
Ironically, my philosophy teacher thought the long pauses I took before speaking was a sign of intelligence. He thought I was pondering the question at hand, when in fact, I was wondering if I should just hold my tongue, and often decided against that.
My Momma used to say I think too much. I would say that about your friend Jason.
.-= Helen´s last blog ..Different Song- Different Lyrics- I Promise- =-.
It may not be a true now but it is our now. Its what we know as now. Unless we think too hard like your friend.
I definitely need more coffee.
.-= Joyce´s last blog ..Ce-le-bra-tion- =-.
I agree — this is our now. You can get all caught up in nano-seconds and light-years, but what we experience each moment is our now.
I also have been accused of thinking too much. Then I had four babies and burned up all my brain cells.
.-= Joy´s last blog ..Sometimes You Need A Boost =-.
I took a ‘philosophy of physics’ class in college. It was pretty much quantum physics w/o the math. Most in the class were atheist or agnostic, but you couldn’t finishish the class without coming to some level of realization of the divine.
It’s a deep rabbit hole he’s going down, but if he’s willing to follow it, he’ll find the wonder of God’s design.
Couldn’t help but think of Ecclesiastes too.
.-= Frank´s last blog ..What are your summer plans =-.
Ohh boy. Fascinating thoughts.
I think you have some fascinating discussions yet to come (or have already had) about “why bother.”
.-= Joanne Sher´s last blog ..Stressed Out Cmon Over =-.
I think my response to Jason would be “So what?” As in, “So what if there’s a delay between perception and reality? ‘Live in the moment’ doesn’t mean perceive the world in the moment, it means letting neither the past nor the future overshadow our appreciation for the present–what we experience in “the now”.
Didn’t your mamas teach you boys not to waste time lolly-gagging around the coffee shop, talking nonsense?
So, if you would have reached out and smacked him upside the head (ever so gently), he wouldn’t have felt it until tomorrow?
Beings that I did NOT ace my collegiate philosophy course, I reckon I will keep living in the present. Yesterday already happened. And tomorrow is in God’s hands. What other choice do I have? My brain doesn’t process all that hoopla Jason rambled about. Perhaps he needs a touch less caffeine?
Blessings.
.-= A Simple Country Girl´s last blog ..Recession Table =-.
I raised a couple of “Jasons.” Luke (philosophy/English major) and Grace (theology/Spanish) have launched many a conversation dealing with existential crises around our not-for-the-faint-of-brain dinner table. I could say a lot right now about Jason’s dilemma, but more than anything I wish I could send you a copy of Grace’s college honor’s thesis. It examines the character Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on his role as confessor (basically the role you played during this conversation with Jason–being the person who’s willing to listen until someone finally arrives at their point), and the key factor in it all is practicing presence. Jason may insist the present is really the past, but that’s not the point so much as being present in our moments, whether they’re truly now or not. I think our tendency to always feel like we’re playing catch up in life is a big reason we struggle to do this–to set aside our personal agenda and to enter another person’s struggle, listening with all our heart and mind until they find the seed buried deep in their own distress. I believe that you, Billy, are a master of this. You observe. You listen. You don’t have to provide all the answers. By simply being fully present, you allow people to explore until they find.
So maybe Jason’s right in one sense. We can’t live IN the present. But that doesn’t mean we can’t practice presence. And when we do, we eliminate the “why bother?” question. We become the answer.
Love, Jeanne
Are you trying to make my UNmedicated ADD brain explode today?
*insert puff of smoke*
This def. got me thinking…..but, being a simple farm gal…….I’ll stick to trucks and mulch.
.-= *~Michelle~*´s last blog ..Consider the sparrow =-.
Oh you make me laugh, and I needed that today!
So I can live with knowing I’m always behind. I pretty much am anyway, so that just justifies what I already do!
You have no idea how much I enjoy reading your posts. They are the first ones I read every day. I don’t know how you stay so fresh and have so much insight day after day, but I love it.
You were right to warn us! I’ve actually pondered this all morning. Like many things, I have tried to go back to simple principles when I am stumped. For me, that includes mathematic concepts, so bear with me.
There is a principle that A=C and even if you multiple both sides by the same amount (in this case “B”) they are still the same AB=BC. Say for instance you and your student hear me talking at the same time (you are A and your student is C, A=C). Your student argues that you can’t fully be in the present because there is an inherent delay in the time it takes for the sound of my voice to reach from your ears to your brain, correct?
However, I would argue that the delay (B) is the same for both you (A) and your student(C) resulting in AB=BC. Therefore, the experience is essentially the same. Technically, no you are not living in the present but for all practical purposes you are.
Overall, I think your student is suffering from what we in the engineering world call “paralysis by analysis”…tell him that nanoseconds is close enough, darling.
Left me chuckling. Reminds me of conversations with my son. Who majored in biology and philosophy. Sometimes he makes my head hurt.
.-= Cassandra Frear´s last blog ..Cheap Tricks =-.
Smoke coming from ears.
Very stretching.
.-= michael´s last blog ..Not Holding the Elevator Door Open =-.
Heady and headachy stuff! Reminded me of this song:
time and space are relative
einstein said back when he lived
the only thing that doesn’t change
makes everything else rearrange
is the speed of light, the speed of light
your love for me must be the speed of light
the man on the moon said the earth was blue
but you don’t have to leave to know that’s true
the only thing that doesn’t change
makes everything else rearrange
is the speed of light, the speed of light …….The Speed of Light by Julie Miller
.-= Kathleen´s last blog ..Loving Family Food =-.
Loved this. I think Jason needs to meet my only, whose program at NYU (he graduated with honors in May) was titled “Zen and Psychosocial Acoustics”. I still don’t understand it, except I know it had a lot to do with music and a lot to do with literature. And, he’s happy!
.-= Maureen´s last blog ..Summer Headlines Poem =-.
So that’s what they’re teaching at college these days. No wonder the country is so messed up…
.-= Annie K´s last blog ..I Live in The Craziest Place on Earth- What Happens When You Euthanize a Few Annoying Geese =-.
Very nice. Funny and thought-provoking. As Christians we also live for eternity which is why in some places in Scripture it talks about us being adopted as sons while others say we “eagerly await our adoption as sons.” It’s the tension of “it’s done, but we are moving into it.” Yep, it can make your brain hurt after a while.
.-= jasonS´s last blog ..I Hate Storage Units =-.
This reminded me of why I never took Philosophy. Very funny, but I ran out of coffee and almost hyperventilated while reading it.
.-= Heather Sunseri´s last blog ..REVIEW- Evolving in Monkey Town =-.
“I hate philosophy. I thought it would make me a better person, you know? Get me thinking more. But I don’t like thinking more.”
Oh, I hear this. Thinking more isn’t always a good thing…sometimes it would be better to live more instead.
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Plink- plink =-.
Okay, yes, I’m late to the party. But according to Jason, there’s no way not to be late to the party since I can’t live in the present. Whatever. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that his present is his present. He’s not living in your present, the sun’s present or anything/anyone else’s present. The moment he experiences something is his present, not the moment it’s communicated to him. But what is all this really? A smokescreen to keep him from focusing on what’s real? Something to keep him separated from truth? God, I Am, is with him and He’s eternal. Maybe Jason should try to wrap his brain around that one.
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..Summer is out to get me =-.