From Guzman’s Nostalgia for the Light
All of our life experiences including this conversation, happened in the past. Even if it is a matter of millionths of a second. The camera I am looking at now is a few meters away and is therefore already several millionths of a second in the past in relation to the time on my watch. The signal takes time to arrive. The light reflected from the camera or from you, reaches me after a moment. A fleeting moment as the speed of light is very fast.
How long does take for moonlight to reach us?
Just over a second.And sunlight?
Eight minutes.So we don’t see things at the very instant we look at them?
No, that’s the trap.The present doesn’t exist. It’s true. The only present that might exist is in the one in my mind. It’s the closest we come to the absolute present. And not even then! When I think it take a moment for the signal to travel between my senses. Between when I say “this is me” and when I touch myself… there is a lapse in time.
…
I am convinced that memory has a gravitational force. It is constantly attracting us. Those who have a memory are able to live in the fragile present moment. Those who have none don’t live anywhere. Each night, slowly, impassively, the centre of the galaxy passes over Santiago.