Many of us are taught to think time goes the same for everyone. But it doesn't. And that's something I've found tremendously mind-blowing since I first read about it. Sorry to all the physicists out there for what I'm about to write since my explanation will most likely be technically flawed, but I hope to get the main points across, at least in concept.
Time is Relative
We're wired to think that the three dimensions of space (length, width, depth) are completely unrelated to time, which in our heads is this thing that passes by linearly and inevitably. It turns out time is tied to space. It's, not-so-creatively, called spacetime. Einstein discovered this in his famous Theory of Relativity.
This means that, according to relativity, time slows down for me as I move faster through space compared to someone at rest. This effect, however, is minuscule at the speeds we experience in daily life and becomes significant only at velocities close to the speed of light. If I travel quickly across space, I'll move less in time, and vice-versa. As in the Twin Paradox, for me to almost stop time in my life, I'd have to be moving at the speed of light, which is impossible today.
Spacetime is not linear, and it can also curve and bend according to mass since it's all tied together. Theoretically, time goes slower near heavy objects like the Pyramids of Giza. It's unnoticeable and practically impossible to prove with current technology, but it's indeed noticeable with astronomically scaled objects like black holes.
Even more mind-blowingly, we could, in theory, travel in time depending on how and where we move in space.
In the universe, according to Einstein, everything that happened, is happening, or will happen, is happening right now, all at once, at the same time, somewhere in spacetime. We're just experiencing one section of that - which makes us perceive time as linear and events in our lives as subsequent to each other.
A Reflection Beyond Physics
These are well-known concepts to many, but it doesn't cease to surprise me. I think about it conceptually from time to time — if I move, I'll somehow live longer since time will go slower. "I gotta stay on the move, not only physically but mentally," I (sometimes unconsciously) say to myself.
I spent a few days in my hometown for the holidays, and this started to resonate in my head again. Another goodbye as I leave, another time when I'm not sure when I'll see most of my family again as I depart to my “other home”. At the same time, I set myself on the move one more time to a more intense rhythm of living, working on e-verse as an entrepreneur, sometimes traveling the world, skydiving, and doing other activities, so I naturally find these quieter times more reflexive, contemplative of my life overall, since I feel I stepped outside of it all for a bit these days, able to see my life from the outside somehow.
As I contemplate it, I see memories go by, and I know they're somewhere in spacetime and that I won't be able to experience them again. They're forever written somewhere in the universe, eternally repeating themselves. This helps me make the most out of the present since it's a miracle I can live it - at least once.
To Settle Or Not To Settle
In this exploration of spacetime and personal experience, we know our movement through space can theoretically affect our passage through time. Yet, these scientific concepts also mirror the choices we make in life between constant motion and stillness.
Staying on the move, thus, has benefits. But it also has costs. If I permanently move, I feel I'm always missing someone or something. And that could take a toll on my family. So, moving “extends” your life, but is such a rootless life worth living? Sometimes, I'd prefer to live a quieter life, closer to my home and family. Sometimes, the opposite.
What is the right balance between pursuing a life filled with movement and wanting rootedness and connection?
In my journey, I try to appreciate that each moment, whether in motion or at rest, is a unique coordinate in the universe, never to be revisited (at least, for now) but constantly shaping our path forward.