Every Moment Is a Creation

I used to think I couldn’t wait ten years; but now I encounter headlines in the news and opinion pieces such as “century-long development plans.” It took me some time to realize just how short a period ten years actually is. Time has accelerated so much that I have reached a point where I can no longer perceive how the years pass. For example, three years of our lives were spent during the COVID pandemic, yet that period lingers in my memory like a brief event that happened just yesterday.

Is there a reason why our perception of time is gradually shortening?

Scientists explain this phenomenon using a mathematical approach. For a one-year-old child, reaching the age of two means reliving 100 percent of their life so far. In contrast, for a 100-year-old person, turning 101 means having lived only an additional 1 percent of their life. These numbers clearly illustrate why our perception of time speeds up as the years pass. I believe the common saying among our elders—that “time flies faster as we grow older”—stems from this very principle.

I still remember that when I was eight or nine years old, internet cafes were just beginning to become popular. Like all children, my friends and I wanted to play games there, but since we were too young, they would not let us in. I have never forgotten the longing I felt inside me at that age to grow up. Those few years between eight or nine and eleven or twelve seemed as long as an entire lifetime. Now, a three-year-long pandemic period lingers in my mind as only a fleeting memory. This, of course, does not change the fact that desired events make time feel slower—but according to the mathematical calculation, as we grow older, the speed at which time passes continues to increase.

Do people remain the same as they were in past years?

The toys we could never get enough of as children, our habits, our pleasures—all of these change over time. The colors, films, and books that capture my interest today will surely become cherished memories that I will enjoy recounting and recalling in the future. Yet I have no doubt that years from now, I will be someone different from who I am today. This simply reminds us of a truth we have always heard: “My future self will be better than my present self.”

Matthew McConaughey’s speech at the Oscars and Haluk Bilginer’s remarks after the Emmy Awards were examples that brought this topic into public discourse. Most people believe that their future selves will be different from who they are today. I agree with them. Because the book I will read tomorrow, the letter I will learn, the people and cultures I will meet will make me wiser than I am today. Moreover, this idea is not a recent trend. Human beings are in a constant state of transformation; they are being recreated at every moment.

How?

“All that is in the heavens and the earth beseeches Him. He is ever in a state of creation.” (Surah Ar-Rahman, 29)

“It is demonstrated that His attribute of creation manifests itself anew at every moment.” (Tafsir, Surah Al-Rahman, 29)

This verse speaks of Allah’s attribute of creation as continuously manifesting at every instant.

Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî also says:

“With every breath, a new world is born; the old world dies and passes away.” ()

In a single second, millions of cells in our body die, and millions are reborn. In such an unceasing process of renewal, can we possibly claim that tomorrow’s self will not differ from today’s?