Na Man and Neema were sitting on the balcony enjoying the fresh breath of the newborn winter morning. This was the daily routine after the children went to school. Today, dry fruits with masala tea and hot potato paunni sodam were savoring the relationship of both. 'Listen, Nima… don't you think this whole year has suddenly fast forwarded. We went to Himachal last Diwali. And again we are sitting on the brink of vacation. I don't know where the time goes. Time runs very fast… Yaar… Life will end one day and you won't even know it… Let's go and enjoy the moment, day by day Kya Pata Kal Ho Na Ho…' Naman spoke This is what many people think is true. We feel the speed of time increasing day by day. The changing pace of time and our experiences are ever-changing phenomena. Time has passed before it is properly understood and enjoyed. The understanding of time is called 'time perception' in psychology. 'Time' gives shape to human life and behaviour. A sequence of physical events continues objectively or in macrotime. In 2017, these three American scientists were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, namely Jeffrey Hall and Michael Rosbash of Brandeis University, Massachusetts, and Michael Young of Rockefeller University, New York, for their research on the body-clock of the human body. These scientists have researched our biological clock or circadian rhythm. Our biological processes run with the internal systems of the body. Reactions vary from person to person according to the psychological interpretation of time and consciousness. We all perceive and respond to the same event in different ways in terms of time. 'Psychological time' is a different concept. The psychological experience of time is non-continuous and non-linear. is strongly context dependent. Meaning we always perceive time based on place, circumstance and experience. A future event in 'psychological time' can become a part of the actual past in 'psychological time', and desires affect action and behavior accordingly. For example a person is doing a certain action in the future. It can be seen for three seconds in a dream. And once those three seconds pass, that future-oriented thought, wish, dream or matter becomes a part of the past. Also, if there is a pleasant or exciting event, its duration is felt fast and if it is painful or distressing, it takes a long time. According to Einstein, as 'physical time' can be stretched, 'psychological time' also gets longer or shorter. When a person falls into a deep state of hypnosis, their time context changes. This is exactly what is felt in a state of intense meditation. Time is based on the realization of events happening around us and the experiences of happiness or sadness associated with them. As we all know, good times pass relatively quickly and bad times seem longer than they are. Psychological time is a complex phenomenon reflected in a variety of experiences. Time is the fourth result along with length, height and width. The dimension of time is clearly important for adjusting or becoming conscious of the physical and social environment. Our behavior is often timed. If not, people recognize it as abnormal or perverted. For example, crying while watching a comedy film or laughing at the death of a close loved one is a sign of a disorder. We develop time consciousness according to circumstances and place. Psychological research suggests that 'time perception' has developed in us through certain physiological and intellectual processes during evolution. An important contribution is the understanding of the physical changes of the atmosphere day and night, seasons etc. Well, the gist of all this discussion is that if you feel the year is short, psychologists say your perception of time is of good quality… Naman and Neema were probably enjoying the same good 'psychological time'… and you ?
Winning Stroke Right now this song from the classic film 'Golmaal' comes to mind… Ane wala pal jaane wala hai, ho sake to ismen zindagi beeta do, pal jo yeh jaane wala hai.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).