The Golden Threads of Time
People have always complained about the era they live in and yearned for better days ahead. With the exception of some heedless ones who indulge themselves in a lifestyle driven by physical pleasures and say, “The past and future are all irrelevant tales; don’t waste your life with them; have fun,” most people either have their hearts in the past or are passionately drawn to the future. The young, with their carefree hearts, often live in the future they have imagined in their dreams, while the mature people of yesterday who have reached a certain age live almost entirely in the past.
In truth, the past has its own meaning, the future its own worth, and the present its own unique value and message for us. If we search for the greatest treasures of time only in the crystal palaces of the future we have built in our dreams, or only in the radiant, heaven-like pages of the past, then it means we are neglecting the present moment, which is the golden segment of time that must absolutely be made best use of. Contrarily, if we close our eyes to both the past and the future, seeking comfort only in today, we lose two vital springs that nourish and give meaning to our lives.
The past is a bountiful spring to nourish both our present and our future. The present, in turn, is a blessed field and a collective capital where we plant the seeds of tomorrow; this being the case, to view the past merely as an archive for nostalgic thoughts and emotions, or to treat the present as nothing more than a festival for carefree pleasures and empty pursuits, is to squander a precious opportunity. It is, in effect, to lose while standing in the very place where we could have won.
Those who live confined within the cage of physicality imagine, in the vigor of youth, that life will always unfold in fortune and everlasting peace. They never stop to consider that both they and everything around them are transient. Then, when the time for reflection finally arrives, they find themselves overwhelmed by sorrow and longing. They lament: “Only now do we realize that everything began bidding us farewell from the very moment we entered this world. Every smile that greeted us was, in truth, also a gesture of farewell – but we failed to understand. How did we become so attached to this temporary resting place, where we were meant to stay only for a little while? Why could we not see even a few steps ahead? It seems that on the very day we entered this world, we also received summons to prepare for our departure. And ever since, we have been moving toward an unknown abyss, scarcely aware of it. Now we watch everything we loved and to which we became attached slipping away from us one by one, yet we are not even given the chance to bid it farewell.
“Farewell to youth, to beauty! Farewell to carefree delight and amusement! Farewell to joy, to peace, and to laughter! Farewell to those bright days when we walked beneath the torchlight of hope. Farewell to dreams of happiness. Farewell to every desire, every dream, and every aspiration…”
In this suffocating fog and smoke, such people die long before entering the grave. In a sense, they join the ranks of the dead, experiencing almost a few deaths with each passing moment. For such people, it is impossible to make different reckonings add up to the same sum, impossible to piece together what has fallen apart, or to relive the days that have already passed.
As for those looking beyond the material world into the depths of their soul, who can view yesterday alongside today, and today in light of tomorrow, see existence and the events of life from an entirely different perspective. Even those among them who have little time for reading or reflection possess a greater order in their thinking, a deeper understanding, and a more discerning and consistent outlook on life and death than those whose vision is confined to the material world.
Their gaze meets all things with a profound sense of connectedness. Their conduct is marked by insight and care, and their actions are guided by a faithful sense of duty. Their conscience knows that these passing times and places will one day give way to eternal ones. Because of this, even amid the whirlpools of death, their souls are able to taste a happiness that seems beyond human reach. To their mature and discerning vision, the whole world and its passing beings point to an eternal reality, and everything bright and dazzling in this life takes on an otherworldly meaning. While heedless hearts remain restless within, they continue to soar from one delight to another, like honeybees flitting from flower to flower. The radiant faces of such people, together with the captivating harmony of their modesty, humility, seriousness, and confidence, suggest a life lived in step with the angels. Their hearts, open to divine inspirations and overflowing with countless spiritual blessings, bear witness to their companionship with the unseen.
For them, the corporeal and the spiritual are not in conflict but exist in harmony, each completing the other. Matter itself becomes a precious vessel of meaning. They are surrounded by an aura born of a deep awareness of a heritage from a glorious past, together with a profound purity, an awe-inspiring dignity, and a meaningful seriousness nurtured in the otherworldly atmosphere of nights illuminated by the Word of God and Prophetic sayings. In every aspect of their lives, they seem to communicate without words, delivering the most captivating sermons simply through the way they live.
In their vibrant and welcoming world, everything is born with a different sweetness and delight, unfolding beyond the confines of time. The past prepares the colorful garments of the future in countless designs. The future, like fertile land to be revived, opens its bosom to lofty ideals and noble dreams, patiently awaiting their fulfillment. The present, meanwhile, moves like a shuttle between these two poles, weaving its own golden thread. In this bright world, the consoling melodies of eternity are heard even as transient things pass away, and one senses that existence is journeying from mortality to immortality. Everything in this realm is striking yet comforting. The air that breathes life into all things is pure and refreshing. The atmosphere that embraces us with its silken arms is filled with affection and spirit, while the heavens—with stars that seem to wink from beyond—awaken our dormant feelings. Such is their beauty and majesty that it is impossible to behold them without awakening, impossible to awaken without sensing the compassionate hand beyond them, and impossible to sense that hand without finding happiness. Faith is such a superb elixir; seeking a spiritual life is such an inexhaustible treasure; the past is such a pure spring; the future is such a fruitful orchard; and the present is such a priceless treasure, enriched with a thousand hidden potentials!
