The Problem of Time

How art transcends the tyranny of time

Hello, Clock Watchers!

Here are two haiku comics about time.

the owl soared through time
plucking paradoxes from
continuum's stream

most disappointing
part of the future—there’s still
daylight saving time

The Problem of Time

Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli repeatedly assures us that time does not exist throughout his beautifully crafted books. He explains that what we experience as time is actually entropy. We are witnessing the movement from order to disorder.

Metaphysically speaking, whether time exists or not is irrelevant to our everyday life because we are finite beings. There will come a point when we will cease to exist in the same form as we are now. What happens after that point is the great mystery.

Because time is not real, it cannot be saved. It also cannot be wasted. All we can do with the time before we succumb to entropy is to be. The secret to solving the problem of time is to be ever-present.

Nostalgia is to live in a past that didn’t exist and anxiety is to live in a future that will not exist. Being present is to exist.

With our wonderful, powerful minds we often futilely attempt to defy the laws of the universe by traveling back and forth through time. Nostalgia and anxiety are our feeble attempts at time travel.

Being present is often the most difficult thing we can do. It also happens to be the most important if you are interested in making the most of your finite life.

If art has a higher purpose surely it is to help us be present. What is a song, a book, a poem, a dance, or a painting if not an invitation to notice this moment and to live in the now?

If you want to escape the tyranny of time make some art. It doesn’t need to be for anyone else’s eyes. Write a haiku about one moment you witnessed today. Draw a picture with the abandon you had as a young child. Dance or sing as you once did before the world taught you there was a “right” way to do such things.

The next issue of Weirdoku is coming soon!

Weirdoku is my irregularly published experimental haiku comic zine. The first issue was published in June and was all about the ocean. This next issue is all about time and time travel and it’s called Spare Bits of Waiting. The two haiku comics from today are from Spare Bits of Waiting. It’s set to go live by the end of the month. Each issue of Weirdoku has 36 haiku comics.

Paid subscribers of Weirdo Poetry will be getting an early complimentary digital copy. Here’s the cover:

Be the weird you want to see in the world!

Cheers,

Jason