Beelzebubs-Tales-to-His-Grandson-by-G-I-Gurdjieff

individuals and by all completely formed units endowed with instinct, theonly difference being due to the quality of their presence and of their state atthe given moment."However, my boy, it must be pointed out that although, for separateindividuals existing in independent cosmic units, the definition of the flow ofTime is not objective in the full sense of the word, their experience acquires asense of objectivity for them, since they perceive the flow of Time accordingto the completeness of their own presence."The same drop of water we have taken as an example can serve to giveyou a clearer understanding of this thought of mine."Although, from the standpoint of universal objectivity, the period of theprocess of the flow of Time in that drop of water is, for the whole of it,entirely subjective, yet for the beings existing within the drop of water itself,this same period of the flow of Time is perceived as objective."To clarify this idea, those beings called 'hypochondriacs' who exist amongthe three-brained beings of the planet Earth can serve as another example."It often seems to these terrestrial hypochondriacs that time passesinfinitely slowly or, as they would say, it 'drags phenomenally tediously.'"In exactly the same way, it may occasionally seem to some infinitesimalbeings in that drop of water—assuming, of course, that there happen to be'hypochondriacs' among them—that time drags phenomenally tediously."But in fact, according to the sensation of the duration of Time of yourterrestrial favorites, the whole existence of these 'microcosmoses' lasts only afew of their 'minutes,' and sometimes only a few of their 'seconds.'"Now, my boy, so that you may understand Time and its peculiarities better,let us compare your age with the corresponding age of a being existing on theplanet Earth.