One Small Step
In the beginning, there was timelessness, before the dawn of time, and man. There was no time in the beginning. In the ‘now’ there is no measurement of time.
On the sixth day, God made Man having already introduced the concept of time (allowing for Man’s finite mind). God took Man to the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But God warned Man he may eat the fruit of every tree – except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Man became lonely and gardening became boring. God knew it’s not good for man to be alone, so God made Eve.
Man shouted out loud, “You beauty.”
“Um, no. My name’s Eve, actually.”
Later, a crafty serpent enticed Eve with a part of God’s truth. The woman repeated God’s command. The serpent replied, questioning God’s Word, and added a sweetener. She saw good food and ate the forbidden fruit… as did Man. Both wanted to be God; to have infinite knowledge and wisdom. They opened their eyes. They had fleetingly tasted Paradise, then lost it! They had lusted.
The Lord God called to Man, “Where are you?”
Man replied shakily, in the cool evening breeze among the trees, “W-w-we’re here but we’re not all there. We are both n-n-naked, are we b-b-busted?”
Sentenced to toil and pain they were done, not yet dusted. Can Man over time, be trusted? Man’s wisdom, at its highest, cannot define time. Yet, Man measured time by the sun until 1582, when it was found to be eleven minutes per annum overdue. A Man overthrew it, for the celebration of Easter. Copernicus and Galileo knew. Man had revolutionised Earth. Earth was so happy, it travelled around the Sun!
By 4909, the Gregorian calendar will be a day ahead. If Man could arrange a calendar to be a day behind on that day bright, he’d consider it as foresight.
The Doomsday Clock inches near midnight. And, Man’s softening phrase, Climate Change, sounds almost natural, not a dire warning. Yet, it’s one small step only to call it what it is – Global Warming.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHi Andew, Philosophical with a taste of humour to lighten the story. Yes in the ”Now” there is neither the past nor the future (no problem?) I liked the way you dropped little snippets of ideas here and there, that lead to the truth that we are in ”Doomsday”. No matter how you dress it! A nice write Andrew.
I always like your insightful comments, Eric. Yes, if God bestowed the parameters of the dynamics of ‘time’ upon Man’s finite mind, and Man then quickened the vagaries of time to suit his ways then, indelibly, we’d be heading for destruction, which we are. So, help us, God.
When man ate the proverbial fruit, he did bite off more than he could Chew?
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHeck yeah.
Loved the story, Andrew! A great representation of what might have really happened in the garden of Eden and a fantastic reflection on the concept of marking time, which makes me wonder… is man even capable of imagining infinity?
You have both a rational and creative mind, Greene. It’s so interesting to explore the dynamics of continuum. I had to get this one done, but I’d like to learn the creative realm more.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleInteresting story. If I take God, a concept I can’t handle anyway, out of the picture, I am left with the thought that before man, creatures lived and died without the concept of time even though time in the sense of a measure of rate of change must have existed. Man with his efforts to ‘improve’ things brought the geological sense of time down to the scale of creatures. Unfortunately in the… Read more »
If people like yourself reflected just a bit more open mindedly we wouldn’t have this dilemma. Most aren’t writers, therefore most aren’t mindful of the future in this short-term gain future as you know so well, Alan.
You have a great sense of humour, Andrew 🙂 What a great way to bring the age old story up to modern times. I think you researched well, too!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI researched a fair bit, Sandra. I love the study of history, and how we might benefit from keeping things simple.
This story is very informative about time, and about the history of how God created man and woman. It is philosophical but you manage to bring it to the modern age with a great sense of humor.
Thanks Lotchie, we need a sense of humour in these perilous times ? .
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleYou’re welcome, Andrew. Yes, you are right.