The Art of Timing - Redux

Back in 2010, I shared my thoughts about the Art of Timing.

Just recently that good friend of mine who told me that it's all about timing, finally opened the floor for a debate on her take on the said art. A typical He Said She Said environment, and I would like to share this with you, and leave it up to you as to how you would interpret it. (To my dear friend, I hope you don't mind me posting the verbatims.)

 

She Said...

 

"I believe in the fact that we shape our own future...that everything that we do today, no matter how minuscule it is, has the power to change our tomorrow. Everything happens for a reason. Not all reasons can be justified, most of them though, can be explained. There are a few, that is, well... absolute."

 

He Said...

 

"Everything does happen for a reason. But I will disagree with you that you cannot justify it, because you can. Enter the theory of Occam’s Razor. That the simplest explanation or reason to an event can actually be it. Human beings will never accept things being absolute. We will always find a higher degree of explanation or reasoning."

 

She Said...

 

"So, where does timing come into the picture?"

 

"Timing directly corresponds with time. And time, among those other few things, is absolute and universal. It is an endless continuum that we can't control. It won't wait nor speed up things for us. It's just there, a dormant but very powerful ticking background of life that can significantly make a lot of difference to our future."

 

He Said...

 

"I agree, that time can’t be controlled in such a way that you can’t go back in time, you can’t predict the future, and indeed I can’t slow it down nor speed things up. I am no rocket scientist but I do know that the rules of time are governed by something, and just like any rule, it too can be bent."

 

"Bent in such a way that you yourself mentioned, we shape our own future, and the time spent shaping that future, we can control. Not time itself but the actions that we take during those times are what matters. Thus no matter what the situation may be, one’s actions can actually turn the tide."

 

She Said...

 

"We experience many things as we go through life but we all think differently. Learning, realizing, accepting, adapting, and forgiving come in varying and complicated degrees that only time can tell when we can finally get that long-awaited epiphany so we can all move forward and have peace of mind, maybe even live happily ever after. Not all people can achieve this, some can, but not all."

 

He Said...

 

"I will agree with you that each individual has a different level of attaining knowledge and achieving a higher state of consciousness. Remember the book, the 10th Insight by James Redfield, it is actually quite a challenge to get to that level. Reaching this state gives the individual a whole new universal perspective of things."

 

She Said...

 

"Timing falls in between the lines. It does not shape our future so much as turn our lives into oblivion. Timing heavily clings to the consequences of all our actions that can make or break our relationships to other people, actions that we've done at a certain period of time. That is why there's a right or wrong timing. It all depends on how we affect other people at a particular time."

 

He Said...

 

"The consequences of our actions. That is why it’s called consequences; that some people are willing to risk in order to achieve a certain goal. Through determination and persistence, even in failure, one can still achieve success. Ok, there are certain decisions in life that we can no longer amend or reverse, and no matter how persistent one can be, there is no going back to it. I will give you that."

 

She Said...

 

"Do I believe in serendipity? Yes, I do. I would like to think that we can be lucky sometimes. Like winning a lotto. I can't explain it and I don't think I would ever want to. It will always be a magical mystery."

 

He Said...

 

"I don’t believe in luck. Your example, the lotto, it can be won if you bet on all combinations. Point being, we all take a gamble in life; it’s just a matter of finding the right combination. You fail, you try a different combination or you increase your probability of success which is something that you can control."

 

She Said...

 

"As for destiny or fate....the future of a predetermined past...I don't believe in it."

 

But I believe in perfect timing.... by not forcing and fighting time. This will only result in a premature realization with half-baked learnings and full of misconceptions."

 

He Said...

 

"Yes, there is what we call perfect timing, but again, not to force it or fight it, but there is a way to use time to be on your side. Just like the art of Combat Aikido. You use the force of your opponent against them and to your advantage, creating the perfect opportunity to immobilize your enemy.

Isn’t timing about this as well? Finding the right moment, the right opportunity, with the least effort possibly, which one can actually control by means of his or her actions."

 

"I believe most of our actions are pre-meditated, because we anticipate things, we do forecasts, create contingencies, dream of the impossible and fantasize the outcome. This is the cause. The effect is what we then perceive as the perfect moment, the right timing when these actions are executed as planned."

 

She Said...

 

"It all boils down to this: After everything that we've done, to the individuals that we've hurt along the way, does the end really justifies the means? Is it really worth it? After all, we all have to live with our choices. If we can honestly answer yes, without a shadow of a doubt, a tinge of regret, or without having a hyperactive conscience that will forever bug us, then... we've done the right thing."

 

He Said...

 

"The end never justifies the means; if the means were done in bad faith. There is a thin line there, because there are situations that call for actions we don’t want and are done because it is the right thing to do. Sometimes life even makes us choose from two of lesser evils. It may haunt us, but deep within us we have to accept that it was the right choice to make."

 

"And some choices are really worth that damn much."