The reality of a calendar-time-existence is that it is always the forwardmost cutting edge. Time builds upon itself because it does not exist until it experiences a relationship with a sentient being. And it is the sentient being that gives meaning to time, (circumstance, places, events). So, in the context of sentience, time and meaning are synonymous. Without sentience, there is no past, no present, no future; there is no circumstance; there are no places, no events. Without sentience there is no time; there is no meaning. It is logical and easy to grasp that without an intelligence to remember and/or perceive, there can be no past or present, but think about the future. If there is no future until it is lived, then even with sentience there is no future because before it is lived the future only exists as a mental construct; and once it is lived, it becomes a memory which I would argue is also a mental construct (much more so than it can ever be a factual accounting). So now if the future and the past are both nonexistent constructs made real only by sentience, then unless one has a very broad definition of the present, (and I would call any definition beyond a mere moment, i.e. an actual millisecond, very broad), then reality truly is emptiness; or absence. Yet that is exactly what I do! I extend my moment! My moment, my present, is my lifetime! Perhaps extended even a few years further to account for the time I will be missed, and to make up for the time it took me to know everything. So here I am, marching in place, being carried (by time, circumstance, places, events, meaning, emptiness) inexorably toward a future that is not there now and will not be there when I arrive. Yet because I am connected to my meaningful moment, my lifetime, I am able to pretend reality is full. I am able to avoid nihilistic thoughts of nothingness. But because life in this universe is rare, and because intelligent life is even more rare, perhaps it is not only logical, perhaps it is okay that a connected, time-conscious intelligence define and determine the direction of their extended moment. Unless…

Unless that direction contributes to increasing the odds of the extinction of the species. We must advance our intelligence to better understand a truer nature of reality, and we must broaden our connections to include not only all of Humanity but all of Life and substance. I believe that this broad advance is necessary for survival. And survival of the species, I would think, should be some sort of ultimate objective. To disconnect vertically from my moment, my lifetime, just enough so I am able to see the wavering wasteland surrounding my moment, and to simultaneously stretch horizontally toward other moments, other realities, so I am able to reawaken a slumbering synergy necessary for progress, is to decrease ego and increase empathy. In addition, I believe this combination of liberation and enlightenment will keep me grounded and sane. Yet I continue to march in place with connections limited to the particular faction of humanity that allows me, encourages me, to continue to march in place. Freedom is not to determine the direction I face as I march in place. Freedom is to sever ties to my moment, to my lifetime, to me, so I may connect with (and work to understand) all Life, all substance.