How To Exist Beyond Time
I’ve found the concept of time difficult. If the Creator, uMdali, lives outside of time – what does that mean? And our very existence is limited to time, but do we fully comprehend this? In my observation, I see a majority of the population living the same day repeatedly- people who work 8- or 12-hour shifts and get drunk to oblivion on the weekends. It prompts me to believe that there is a lie we have been co-opted to believe and unknowingly we keep our minds too occupied to face the truth, inevitable death. But could death be more than a moment where time comes back to remind us that our lives end? According to ancestral memory, we are part of the cycle of death and renewal, where once we die, we are set free into the dimension outside of time, back into the realm of our Creator. Why are we no longer taught this?
Man vs. The Machine
The development of modern technology is regarded as an acceleration into the future, from the first telephone developed in the 1800s to the advancement of sophisticated artificial intelligence technology is rapidly growing in the 21st Century. But whose future is it because with the rise of each industrial revolution, more damage is done to the planet, animals, and more humans suffer from an economic and psychological standpoint.
The more technologically advanced the world gets, the more it functions as a detriment to the earth and its inhabitants. In simpler times, we spent more of our lives with family, friends, and community, as opposed to the modern technological age spent devoting our precious time to a state of perpetual escapism, whether trapped in toxic work environments or hallucinated by substances or glued to screens and addicted to likes.
Function of Time
The more time I spent with myself with no distractions, the more time I got to immerse myself into the meaning of existence. The most profound teaching I came to understand about my culture as an African is that my ancestors exist beyond time therefore I will exist beyond time. I found myself lamenting the days before Africa was left in ruins due to invaders, a time which I believe we understood that precious time is utilized for building our families, communities, and nation together. A time when people did not sneer at the teachings of African cultural wisdom, but it was general knowledge—a time people felt their connection that exists beyond time to our Creator, uMdali.
What is the use of this brief mortal life if not for the pursuit of legacy?
It is a relatively new concept in modern society to spend our short lives on earth pursuing individual interests over and above the interests of the family legacy. Family is regarded as the key that lives beyond time according to African cultural beliefs and the ways of isiNtu, with each generation birthed to pursue further and develop the legacy (both material and spiritual) that already exists or build anew through intrinsic genetic wealth. True wealth is created and maintained according to the principal understanding of building something that can stand the test of time for family generations to come so they remember you. African cultural beliefs are based on remembering our ancestors who lived before us and our lives are constructed on their honor, guidance and the cultivation the gifts/legacy they have given us. When we sell our time to unfulfilling jobs or frivolous fun what we are truly selling is our purpose and legacy.
Live your life preparing to exist beyond time.