We're the only lifeforms that indulge in this time keeping as it allows us a larger understanding of the world we live in and the similarities that we share with all other lifeforms. It can be said that our interest in time is one of the major factors that make us what we are - homo sapiens. Obviously we could still survive without any cognizance of time... our very early ancestors had only the most primitive notion that soon flourished with each passing generation and their knowledge pool of the world in which we live.
Taking one hundred years as a reference point, a hu'man that lives to attain that age is rightfully considered old, no doubt. One hundred years is a major achievement for one's body to survive living in any conditions the world has to offer. Not many of us have or even will have the opportunity to see ourselves at 100.
One hundred times that individual has gone around our Sun... one hundred revolutions of living, breathing, thinking, sensing... being. But is that 100 years really anything to be blown away by... so significant when using our knowledge of time ? The very earth we live upon is currently believed to be 4.54 Billion years old, i.e. earth has revolved around its Sun 4.54 billion times... a far cry from 100 revolutions. The Triassic Period was 250-208 million year ago followed by the Jurassic Period 208 - 144 million years ago and then the Cretaceous Period which was 144 - 65 million years ago. Convert each of those years to one revolution around our Sun and when we note our own hu'manity "first appears in the fossil record in Africa about 195,000 years ago," we see using our own inventiveness on measuring time is far younger than anything other lifeform upon this singular planet in a singular solar system in a singular galaxy amongst billions and billions so far known to exist. Only (10) ten days ago, Hubble spotted "five tiny but bright galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years from Earth."
That measure of time translates to 13.1 billion times the distance light travels one year... again remembering all these tremendous times science has used for measurements is based on each year being one revolution around our Sun... nothing else. There is no other way we can measure time other than the way we have known how to do it for centuries... a methodology based upon a single complete revolution around our treasured Sun. The importance of our Sun is not any less important than it was to, say the ancient Egyptians who worshiped it. Current knowledge states Egyptian civilization came together around 3150 BC. More likely than not other civilizations have given great importance to our Sun and for damn good reason - we'd all be dead without the power of the Sun's energy. It's always been there for us and for all life prior to our existence on this planet. One can arguably say without the Sun there wouldn't even be any cognizance of time at all. And without time as we measure distances of the universe, we would have no preconceptions of the world we have been born into.
If we lived upon a planet that provided virtually the same conditions as Earth provides with the one exception being that planet revolved around its Sun twice as long as our own, would we be living twice as long? What if this make-believe planet revolved around two Suns... how would time be measured? And would life expectancy be far different from we Earthlings?
One of many arguments against UFOs and aliens from other worlds is that the next closest galaxy solar system would require many, many years (one revolution around our Sun) and therefore highly unlikely to ever occur. This is a statement based upon a very basic and simple measurement of Time... our own revolution around our own simple Sun in comparison to other Suns and galaxies and other lifeform's measurement of Time. Our own measurement of Time could very well be akin to the measure of life for a mayfly (1 day) to that of say, the bowhead whale (200 years), the mayfly (hu'mans) vs bowhead (aliens).
We're restricted by time whether we are aware of it or not. Life is a gift if we see it as such or it can be a pain in the ass if we're not too fond of our own life. Whether we live a short life due to an accident or disease, or a long life of that speculative 100 years ... it's what we do with our lives is all the ultimately matters. Perhaps that is why no other lifeform bemoans the shortness or length of life, because instinctively they know they are alive until they are not... and that is the best we can do ourselves. "Life is for the living" is an old adage that has been around for many moons and for good reason - it's unarguable.
cecil
1.15.12
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