Of "Time Heals"

-->

Of “Time Heals”

A brief response to the article “Time Heals”, with time as a healer

(This is a response to an article a friend of mine wrote. You can find it here: http://ohbenning.tumblr.com/post/147118004640/time-heals)

Many of us would find the phrase “time heals” somewhat cliché especially when we almost take its occurrence for granted or expect it to happen like some biological process. Cliché or not, the notion that time heals may be true in the sense that we cannot always be actively experiencing hurtful emotions or be caught in negative situations. Looking back we could see our struggles with “gratefulness and romanticism” and as mere fleeting emotions or whimsical decisions.

Pardon my pessimistic tone; yet call me a hard realist, if you would. But I seem to think that the process of healing with time may not be as grand as the poets and bards would have us believe. Think about it. Would it not be better if we could prevent ourselves from any injury instead of consistently finding cures every time we get hurt? It would appear that the act and art of allowing time to “do its thing” is no more a sign of our terrible frailty and susceptibility to damage in any wind and weather.

If time is indeed a healer, then, just like having to pay for medication from a doctor, healing always comes with a price. For certain the hurts we overcome make us stronger and wiser, but the heavy cost to this is that it makes us brittle over time - we become changed (for better or for worse); our emotions aren’t as pure as they were, and our outlook in life may not be as innocent as it was. We are like sand in the hands of a glassmaker. The more heat you subject us to and a beautiful ornament you shall eventually have. But drop that ornament just once and we shatter into a million irreparable shards.

I suppose a watershed for humankind would be to find that ‘miracle pill’ that erases all painful emotions and memories. Unfortunately there is none, and we must be patient with letting time be our healer. Time is of course necessary since you can’t expect to heal overnight and pretend like nothing happened. This brings something else to mind. Consider the quote from “The Lord of the Rings”: “Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time Aragorn will die”. Well it seems to me that, where healing is concerned, Time itself is nothing more than just a “slow decay” in disguise as a healer. It is a subtle and inevitable process of nature to ensure the certainty of Death.

Let me explain. I believe there to be a metaphysical and existential purpose that links the entities of Time and Death. That purpose is healing! Seems contrary since many would think of healing as a means to avoid death. However, with time as a healer it can only perform its office if there is time for it to do so. When time runs out or is insufficient, how then does healing take place? This is where Death as an instrumental tool of nature steps in. Just as how Time is a “slow decay in disguise as a healer”, Death would inversely be the “ultimate healer in disguise as a plague”. It heals any and every thing once and for all while preventing future harm. And unlike the price we pay with Time, there is none in Death. In fact I daresay Death itself is the miracle pill we’ve been searching for. When the right time comes to surrender ourselves to death’s embrace, then and only then can we finally be healed of all sickness, hurt, and sorrow.

We always wonder what Time and Death are. But perhaps it is more prudent to ask ourselves what these two entities are for. Well, their role is to heal, to bring comfort, and to make us whole. That is their common purpose. I quote, “If you have faith in your heart that time, nature, life coursing through your veins is for you, then you will see the world in a different light”. Most assuredly we ought not to see death and time as opposing forces, but as the work of nature to bring about balance, life, and healing.

We always look for a healer when instead we should be seeking a cure. Well, we have all the Time in the world to find that cure, now don’t we. And when we find ourselves out of time, that is ironically, when we have finally fulfilled our quest.  

This I do say: Time is a healer; Death is the cure.