At the Speed of Light into the Future

Einstein’s theory of relativity teaches us that we are always traveling through time and space. The hypotenuse of our speed through time and our speed through space is always the speed of light. When we are stationary in space, we move through time at a maximum speed of one light-second per second.

This means that an average life of 83 years is a journey of 83 light-years into the future. That is a dizzying distance. A journey as long as to the star Alcor in the Big Dipper. Perhaps this is why we experience time as passing so quickly, because we are actually rushing forward at an unimaginable speed. Each moment is a point we pass only once, and leave behind us forever on our journey into the unknown. The past is fixed and unchangeable – quickly far behind us. The future is new terrain, but we can choose the course.

Physics is not just mathematics, it can also provide life insights.

(Written 2025)