I SPEND MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME IN THE PAST

A couple of years ago a documentary film about our family was released (named Because We Have Each Other), and within it each of us got a chance to do a fair bit of talking. Close to the beginning of the film, my youngest sister expressed a desire that what she wished for most was a time-machine, for the purpose of correcting her past mistakes.

In a Q&A session after one of the screenings, an audience member asked me if I too had a desire of using a time-machine. Immediately and truthfully my answer was that I didn’t. There were several reasons that contributed to the response of which I gave.

Firstly, I have always experienced constant involuntary flashbacks of previous events of my life. So even without a time-machine, I see and relive more than enough of the past to satisfy me. Nostalgia isn’t an emotion that I experience, because from those recollections I’m able to fully understand that the present era is so much easier than yesteryear. In the past I fell into frequent bouts of depression and hopelessness. Though in the current day and age, most forms of technology effectively prevent me from having further mental breakdowns. As I wrote that previous sentence I felt so incredibly thankful that we were in 2024 and not 2004!

It is said that it’s a nice feeling to re-experience positive events of the past, such as going to a video rental store. However I only enjoyed that as a pre-teen because there wasn’t anything else available back then, in order to enjoy a movie night with friends. If streaming platforms existed a couple of decades ago, I wouldn’t have gotten the same sense of excitement whilst visiting a Blockbuster store. So even if I were to travel back to 2004, those Friday nights of going to those places couldn’t possibly be re-experienced sensually/emotionally. I also don’t miss those days, because now I can feel even happier with much more advanced things, that are available today.

Something else which is apparent to me when I’m constantly reliving my past, is that there is a so called “butterfly effect” resulting from each and every thought, emotion, action and experience. Every single one of those creates a very different outcome all together, and even making the slightest change will additionally erase the positive things that I now have in my life.

At first glance it’s true that life would be so much easier if I could go back in time and purposely take away the painful events. However challenging and painful situations also lead to growth, self-discovery, social connections and hard work that ends with a good outcome. In fact, when I reflect on all of the events of my past, I can see that the happy experiences only gave me a treat which lasted as long as the event itself did. But after that rush of excitement disappears it’s affect doesn’t enable me to learn, grow and move forward towards other positive things.

According to astrophysics it is certainly possible to bend and alter time. As well, in regard to time machines there are currently theories of how humanity can make one. Yet it’s very dangerous to scientifically experiment with things (like spacetime) that we don’t yet know too much about. So it’s certain that no person who is alive (or even born) today will ever be able to use a device which takes their actual body into another time.

However, I’ll conclude this by saying that the impossibility of (naturally) moving backwards in time is most certainly for good reason. Also, from having to constantly relive my past (via flashbacks and memories), I’ve gathered that physically travelling back in time wouldn’t be anywhere near as fun or advantageous as it’s perceived to be.