Time, change and the study of spirituality

Abstract

In the Western Hemisphere, we have just passed the Spring Equinox, so we have more daylight now than night as we move towards summertime. This transition is reflected in nature with its wonderful array of colour, sounds and activity. Spring is the season of new birth and beginnings, the time of evolution and change. In many religions and worldviews, Spring is associated with a time of hope and optimism. Hope and optimism are certainly welcome as many countries experience the effects of wars, natural disasters, the impact of climate change and financial hardship due to the fuel crisis and dreadful economic situation. Conversely, we have witnessed the compassionate response of so many people giving generously to support the relief efforts to help alleviate the impact and suffering caused by these devastating situations. On a recent visit to Cambridge I (WMc) noticed a small crowd had gathered at the corner of a street; they were all staring and studying something in a window. Being of the curious type I wondered what the commotion and attraction was and wandered over to look. To my amazement they were looking at what could be described as a golden disc with what appeared to be a grasshopper on the top. I later learned that this was the ‘Corpus Clock’, a significant landmark and attraction for tourists to the city. There is a good introduction provided on Corpus Christi College website which states ‘It was invented, designed and given to Corpus Christi College by Dr John C Taylor OBE FREng (m1959), who worked with local engineering company Huxley Bertram in constructing the Clock’. What does the Corpus Clock have to do with time and the study of spirituality? The passage of time is inextricably linked to spiritualty and our own mortality. The Corpus Clock has no chimes or bells, and just as we move from winter into spring often silently without fuss or punctuation, so we pass through the seasons of our lives. Each of us has a finite amount of time and the impact of time results in transition as we move through life and, if we are fortunate, experience the ageing process with its resultant holistic change. The juxtaposition is that, while we change with the effects of time, spirituality remains a constant in time, enduring and for some reflecting the changing trends, philosophies, worldviews, and challenges of that time.