The scientists in the room may want to sit this one out and watch a layman who can hardly spell ‘scientist’ make a fool of himself.
What is Time? There seems to be some consensus that there are at least two ‘kinds’ of time, kronos and kairos, and since nobody really knows what time is, the door is open for some interesting speculation on the subject.
Kronos is time measured. It’s the most familiar kind, marked by clocks, sunrise and sunset, and orbiting planets. Personal experience indicates that the duration of unpleasant experiences is measured by kronos time, experiences like wondering when that toothache will end then counting the hours before a visit to the dentist, or waiting for your delayed flight to arrive at the gate, or watching the clock counting the minutes between contractions. Kronos time cannot be ignored, it imposes itself on everything we consciously do.
Kairos is time experienced. This is a bit more subtle. Who hasn’t put down a good book, returned from a walk through a cool green forest or enjoyed an absorbing discussion with a good friend, and later wondered, “Where did the time go?” Note that kairos time is almost always the UNmeasured experience of pleasant events. Kairos time is out of sight, out of mind. The instant we become conscious of it, it vanishes and chronos time closes in.
Time is neither good nor bad, but the kronos-kairos comparison reveals a stunning spiritual dimension. If chronos time is the world’s measure of misery and kairos time underlies all pleasant experience, then kairos time might be the unmeasured time of eternity where chronos time doesn’t exist because, there is nothing to measure. And maybe the experience of the Beatific Vision for those who die in God’s graces, is such that kairos time simply never crosses the mind so they never reach the point of asking, “Where did the time go?”
Kronos time, on the other hand, is merely that which it takes for matter to move from point a to point b. No matter, no movement, no time.
