Time Machine

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:34

The Time Machine. It's human nature to want to turn back time, to relive moments in their lives of glorious splendor. Or perhaps to speed up time to see the wondrous future, or to make fast the suffering one is undertaking currently (like Med School! GAAAAH!).

But see, time machines don't work that way. How do I know? Because I have one.

Going to the future on this is pretty simple. However, I've learned that this time machine that I have can't turn back time. Now you're thinking it's pretty useless, but then I wondered why, and stumbled upon an easy answer. See, if it could go back into the past, and since this time machine is so easily acquirable, then the world would be in utter chaos! Time includes EVERYONE, so if everybody started changing their pasts, then there would be no real history. The space-time continuum would be broken in pieces! So that is why it can't do that, its some kind of failsafe mechanic for our lives to actually work despite the use of this time machine.

Now, to tell you about this time machine.

There was a boy, he was 10 years old, and he was riding a car. A nice Corvette convertible. The driver of the car, an old Italian man, was going 90 on the highway. Top down, the wind was blowing through their hairs, the fields as far as the eye can see from both sides disappeared in hazy blur. The Italian man then said to the boy, "You know what a time machine is?"

The boy wondered, and said "Yes, I do. Why?"

"You're riding on one" the Italian man smirked.

The boy was perplexed. This car, a time machine? That's silly.

Seeing the boy all confused, he pointed with his thumb towards the back. "That is the past."

He pointed towards the road ahead with his index finger and said, "That is the future."

Lastly, he pointed on the steering wheel and said, "Here, now, I am driving this beautiful baby. I have to make sure I do it right, or else I won't be able to go to the future," as he nodded towards the road ahead, "and this, is the present."

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with what is happening now, with all the work, all the studying, and all the seemingly endless suffering that we wished that we could turn back time to easier days, or rush through today so we can see a brighter tomorrow. But without the here and now, without knowing what we need to learn, to experience, to bring with us for tomorrow, there would be nothing waiting for us. No better us, no better days, no better lives. And if the past were to be easily altered, there would be no YOU now. That's why we can't go back in time, for the lessons we learned back then is exactly the reason why who we are today.

No tomorrow, no yesterday. Just today, is sufficient enough. To enjoy life, to savor it's bitterness and sweetness, to stop and smell the flowers (or maybe even perhaps the pollution?), to see that smile on a child who have less than what we have, to live LIFE. This is what it's all about.

Tomorrow will deal with itself, when we get there.

I found out that my shoes were magical time machines. I'm sure you could find one in your closet.

Antonio Miguel Unabia

Med Student