Ilia Sheludiakov’s Temporalism is a philosophical discussion of the passage of time, and how a person might make life’s journey meaningful.

Temporalism to Sheludiakov is the challenge to actively create a fulfilling life despite the infuriating human perception of time as both running out and dragging on. Using the age-old metaphor of time as a river, he situates readers in the moment, the past undeniably gone and the future inexorably approaching. “The river flows by itself, but the choice of whether to build cities on its banks, throw anchors, or mark milestones remains with you.” The present is the time to act with discipline to achieve upcoming “’[s]tar events’… those moments that illuminate your life path.”

Sheludiakov encourages readers to build those events on three foundational values: Be responsible to your future self; create long-term strategies and short-term tactics to consistently bring your goal closer; move unfailingly forward.

Additionally, he notes that by attending carefully to four areas of well-being (physical/mental health, relationships and social environment, activity and self-realization, and financial stability), time can be spent wisely to achieve each person’s unique self-expression.

The prose here doesn’t leap and sparkle. Indeed, it’s often abstract and hard to parse, as in: “…negative experiences are one of the foundations of consciousness learning and its adaptation and improvement in relation to the outside world, even if a person is not aware of this and begins to block the potential that has been formed with psychological barriers, anxiety and fear.” Those eager to learn how to make time an ally will be frustrated with much of this narrative.

Still, there are inspiring ideas to be mined; for example, “Even if much has been missed [in life], that in itself does not make the rest meaningless. On the contrary, realizing missed time can become one of the strongest points of inner awakening…”

Unfortunately, to find such thoughts, readers will need two key elements in the author’s philosophy: patience and persistence,

Also available as an ebook.