If time suddenly disappeared, what would become of our lives? Yes, we would experience conceptual chaos. There would be no more yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
Imagine if the Sun did not shine from east to west, imagine if it only shone overhead, then died like a light on the ceiling of our house, and day turned into night. We would not be able to calculate how long the day was, how long we had to sleep.
Without time, everything becomes empty. The concepts of past, present, and future disappear, causing confusion because there is no sequence of events. We can no longer make appointments or schedules based on time. The absence of time transforms life into a state of eternity, without change or purpose.
The absence of time means that everything happens simultaneously or not at all, forcing us to live fully only in the moment, unburdened by the past or hopes for the future, in a state of existential confusion.
We celebrate the new year, which means we celebrate the passing of time. Humans measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, and days. Then there are years, which are an accumulation of smaller units of time.
Time reckoning is the result of gradual development across various civilizations. The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians already had calendars based on astronomy. Then, under Julius Caesar, the Romans introduced the Julian calendar (the basis for the Christian calendar) in 45 BC, with the help of the Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes. Julius reformed the Roman calendar to 365 days with a leap year every 4 years, setting January 1 as the beginning of the year.
The Julian calendar was later refined by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to become the Gregorian calendar (the one we use today) to correct inaccuracies, with the help of scientists such as Aloysius Lilius and Christopher Clavius. He refined it by removing 10 days and changing the leap year rules, which became the basis for the current global calendar.
With the existence of time, human life becomes more complete. Time not only shows the position of the Sun, but also marks periods. Humans use these periods to measure everything, from the duration of a game to seasonal phenomena, when they begin and end.
In social relationships, time periods are used as a measure to assess quality. For example, assessing performance or setting targets to be achieved within a certain period. For profit-seeking organizations, time is the most absolute currency. It cannot be added to or subtracted from, only managed.
For a company, time is not just a stream of passing seconds, but a battlefield where every minute is an opportunity to make a profit or lose momentum.
Profit-seeking organizations live in a time paradox: they must move quickly to avoid falling behind, but they must also be careful that the steps they take do not undermine their long-term foundations. Productivity here is not simply a matter of output.
On the other hand, in today's digital age, time no longer flows naturally, as when the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Time has been cut, divided, and scheduled by notifications from our smart devices, which have become our masters that we must always obey. We no longer live according to our biological clocks in order to remain productive, but according to a digital rhythm.
In fact, true productivity is the ability to dialogue with time. Wise institutions do not just race against the clock, but also dance to the rhythm of time, understanding when to move quickly, when to wait, when to invest in quality, and when to accept that profits cannot be generated at all times.
Therefore, in terms of time, modern humans are indeed at a disadvantage. Except for those who are truly patient in balancing their rights and obligations. Managing time is a policy to ensure that we do not waste it.
Therefore, time will always move linearly and cannot be repeated. If we celebrate time, the turn of the year will always be a source of hope, not a repetition. It increases, while our age decreases, as does our probability of always winning.
