The Length of Time
Last night I listened to [Part 2 of Robert Breedlove's recent interview with Dr. Jack Kruse.](https://youtu.be/yALOChgRrHQ) There were many elements that I found to be very fascinating with regard to history, and I really appreciated the in-depth discussion from Part 1 about the interplay between human health and light/EMF (which I've been slowly learning about during the past year). But what I will write about in this article is the subject of time.
In that interview, Dr. Kruse connected the timestamping element of Bitcoin to the biological circadian rhythm. This stood out to me because years ago, I made a conscious decision about how I would think about time, and my subjective experience of it. Humans are born with a finite amount of time allocated to their lives.
I think that, like the total supply of Bitcoin, through events that transpire, and choices that we make, we can lose some of that time. Then, conversely, through other actions that we can take, we can gain some of that time back. There is no true life extension, not by any means that are effectively being explored today. Humans live for 120 years, give or take a few, and then they die.
But what about that time that we have? Is it a long time, or a short time? I very seldom hear people talk as if they expect to live long lives. Frequently, you hear the saying that "Life is short", or "Life is too short to not do [such and such]". I even encounter Bitcoiners saying this. Well, is this true?
It depends on you. Is your time short, or is it long? This depends on the choices that you make, and the events that you live through. In some cases, events may transpire which end your life far too soon before you would have died naturally. But even then, is your time short?
It is what you make of it. Even a day can be long or short, depending on what you made of it. Another way to consider this is in terms of quality. Are you living a quality life?
Jack Kruse spoke about circadian rhythm as being the flow meter for human experience of time. If you are unhealthy, this throws off your circadian rhythm, and hence, your subjective experience of time. What makes a person unhealthy? We know more about this question now than perhaps ever before in human history. If humans are not getting enough natural sunlight, from sunup to sundown, there is an impact to their health. If they eat garbage food, there is an impact, even if they never step barefoot outside, there is an impact.
It's easy to stay inside, to watch anime or sitcoms on the TV, play games, and when necessary, to put on your rubber-soled shoes and go to the store to buy more food. It's easy, but the impact on your subjective time makes it short. The day flies by and you will feel like you're losing time. Your time is short, because your flow meter is gunked up; and so your life is short. Then, because your life is short, you will fall into nihilistc thinking and feel compelled to engage in activities that you wouldn't have otherwise.
The converse is also true. I studied Chen Taijiquan (Chen-style Tai Chi) several years back, and my sifu would say, "if you want to get energy, then you have to spend energy" in response to students who complained that some days they didn't feel strong or energetic enough to exercise. To get up before dawn is difficult, but also restorative. To eat only meat (and some limited other foods), to get out for a walk in the hot sun, to hit the gym, these all require us to spend energy, but in response we also get energy. We feel better, our circadian rhythms come into balance. And then our time is long.
When our time is long, then even if our lives are cut short, we will have lived well. As short time leads us to nihilistic thinking, long time leads us to hopeful thinking. It leads us to plan for the future and to seek the betterment of ourselves, our family, our neighbors, and humanity. Because we have hope.
So is your life long or short? It's up to you. It comes down to your mindset and your choices, which will effect your health and circadian rhythm, which will then feed back into experiences that can reinforce that mindset. I'm 38 years old as I write this, and I can gladly say that I've lived a long life, even if I die just after publishing this, because I'm thankful for the good things in my life, the experiences I've had, and the positive influences I know that I had on other people. For the record, I neither EXPECT nor DESIRE to die today.
From my perspective, at 38, I've lived a long life, not a short one. But I can still live much longer. I can do much more, and I can work to build a better future for myself and the ones that I love. Despite the frustrations of the world, I still look forward with hope to the future of having a family, but without the anxiety that my time is slipping away.
This is me, and my thinking. My time is long, and I will pursue the path that maximizes it to the fullest, even with the objective limit of 120 years. And I will not regret it.
So what about you? Is your time long, or short? And what will you do, knowing that you have the tools to change it?
