We control clocks, but we do not control time. Yet we assume human dominion over clocks is equivalent to temporal sovereignty. It is not. Temporal sovereignty is the exercise of political independence, authority, and control over time, according to Mark Rifkin’s book, Beyond Settler Time: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination. I have not read the book; in fact, I learned of its existence only this morning when I explored whether the phrase, temporal sovereignty, had been used to describe the sense of control over time. Time is simply a frame of reference to which we refer when comparing or contrasting the occurrence of events. That frame of reference does not require human involvement…not even the acknowledgement of humans. It does not require, but can involve, us. But we seem to think that, without us, there is no such thing as time. The only way to test that belief, of course, is to extract us (humans) from all universal experience. That is, we go away…completely. A problem then arises, though; how is time (or its non-existence) measured in our absence? Wait! Is this leading to support for the concept of humans having temporal sovereignty? Are the questions sufficiently important to devote time and energy to finding answers? Well, yes and no.
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I am too tired to think. Too weak to move out of my chair. Thirsty, but the prospect of making my way to the kitchen is almost overwhelming. Oh, I’ll make it. Eventually thirst will overpower fatigue. Hunger, though, has left the building. I forced myself to eat yesterday, in spite of my body’s rejection of the idea. I was to go to lunch with a friend yesterday, which I wanted very much to do, but I did not feel well enough. I needed to be home, where I could collapse into bed if necessary. I need to eat; no doubt about it. But the idea of eating anything is utterly unappealing. I’ve been going through Ensure nutrition shakes with abandon, though, so I’m getting necessary calories and vitamins and minerals, etc. There is more than ample food of all kinds readily available; at some point, I’m sure I will eat it. I’ll give myself an objective: east breakfast within the hour. Almost two weeks have passed since my most recent chemo; the damned side-effects seem to last longer with every infusion. Or, maybe, I’m contributing to my own fatigue by not eating enough. I once believed I was not a stupid man.
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Now, more water and more Ensure. And a banana. And maybe some yoghurt.
