Tarzan Time

Hmm...I have a lot of thoughts on my mind right now (surprise surprise), but I feel most moved to write about Tarzan (using a jungle green font, of course). First watch this video(below) and then I'll explain. Also, it's best to watch the video on a computer with a functioning sound system (Mom). 



So, where am I going with this? Well, I actually find this video quite powerful. To me, it captures a vision of life, love, faith, and hope that I struggle to keep at the center of my own life. I think I can best describe this vision by first introducing the concepts of "chronos" and "kairos". The ancient Greeks have two words for time: "chronos" and "kairos". According to wikipedia:"While 'chronos' refers to chronological or sequential time, 'kairos' signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens. What that something special is depends on who is using the word. While 'chronos' is quantitative, 'kairos' has a qualitative nature."

I think this distinction is especially important when one is trying to find and create meaning in his or her life. When I operate on 'chronos' sometimes I find myself valuing my schedule and my plans over my experiences and encounters. I value "doing" over "being" and I view time as something that is finite--something that I must seek to control in some way.

I visited my alma mater this past weekend and I was inevitably reminded of time: past, present, and future. I wondered: what made my time at Colgate worthwhile, and what do I hope for myself in present and future time? Additionally, I realized that my time at Colgate had passed, and that each year there are new students who are passing their time there (or, I suppose, actively engaging it!). When I met with professors and mentors I couldn't help but wonder how they view their time at Colgate--and what they hope for themselves and for their students. I recall that I initially applied to Colgate because of a quote from the guidebook from former president, Rebecca Chopp: "The purpose of a liberal arts education is to enable* students to live a life worth living and to create a world worth living in." (*not sure if this was the verb she used...)





Essentially, Chopp suggests that a liberal arts education empowers students to create their own realities--to choose their commitments, causes, values, and beliefs. Time passes, but we are active. Such agency can be both liberating and terrifying all at the same time. Again I find myself asking what I want in life. How will I choose to make my time worthwhile (and what will happen if I fail to do so)?

Back to the Tarzan music video. Tarzan's life trajectory reminds me that our agency is limited by the complex, unpredictable hands that we are dealt in life. He could not control the fact that the (not-so-)perfect storm shipwrecked him and his parents and forced them to find refuge in the nearest jungle. Tarzan did not choose to be raised by (exceptionally compassionate) gorillas, and he could inevitably only control a limited portion of his environment. But to me, the heart of this video--the 'kairos' of its story--is depicted through the response patterns of each character. In the moment in time when Tarzan's parents are shipwrecked, they responded with strength and hope. They commit to building a home so that they could take care of their son. Similarly, the gorilla responds with love and care when she chooses to raise baby Tarzan--and to help him navigate the dangers of the jungle.

When I think about what makes time worthwhile--or what a parent wants for a child or a teacher for a student--I prefer to use the language of 'kairos'. I am only beginning to let go of the idea that a particular path, belief, accomplishment, career, etc. creates meaning in time. I think we create meaning through the ways in which we respond to life's moments--and since wrapped up in that response is the unique combination of people, circumstances, and beliefs that shape us, the moment is special. Furthermore, when these people, beliefs, and moments are at the center of our lives, our time is worthwhile. There is a timeless quality to that which shapes our response pattern because our responses affect other people and places. "What we do in life echoes in eternity," as Maximus (and Zach Zipser) says!


So of course I have to try to bring things full circle and point out that "alma mater" means "nourishing mother" and that the title of the song in the Tarzan video is "You'll be in my heart." To me, a life worth living and a world worth living in are ones in which time is special. And the more tools and support we have to navigate life's complexities, the more deeply we can engage our responses and our lives: our precious time.