Monday, June 1, 2009

The cardinality of time

The body location of time never ceases to amaze me.

The present time, for instance, is located on the left wrist of the person who evokes it.

The past, conversely, is on the right or sometimes on the back. If the past is recent, then the elbow might be folded and close to the chest, while the forefinger might be slightly risen. If the past is not that recent, then the arm and hand might be stretched out, with the palm facing the front. In other words, the past is located like two feet away on the right.

In the cardinality of time, however, the future has no place.

2 comments:

Gary Bellman said...

Wow. Where do you get stuff like this?

My mundane mind says, "If you're lefthanded the present time must be on the right wrist.".

For me the future is always right in front of me and stretches out until it disappears in a dot like railway tracks do.

And you do this in Spanish too?

I do pretty well in one language but a second one, even at a middling level, was not among the cards in the hand I was dealt. I know this because I've looked very diligently, much testing the patience and ingenuity of more than one teacher.

You write peotry, too, yes?

Go well.

Gary Bellman

Julia said...

Well, it's just a mental rambling. I like to surprise people around me (particularly my husband) with useless remarks. My latest specimen came 2 days ago, when I told him "do you realize that it's been a while since we last experienced the rush of unlocking the door while the phone is ringing inside?" (We moved to Minnesota last year and only bought cell phones, we don't have a land line). He, of course, laughed.

Spanish is my mother tongue, and is the only language where I can, well, think and create. I am fluent in English (particularly in writing, not so much speaking) and in French (neither nor), but in both cases I took courses from scratch to proficiency level. Afterwards I went on to immerse myself in those languages (particularly written English, I read almost exclusively in that language). If you heard me speak, it wouldn't take you long to notice that I struggle to express an idea - a lot.

With regards to this particular post, I've noticed that past and present are usually within the body, while the future is outside (somewhere in front of you, but not measurable with your body). Not that it matters much, really, just a thought.