I woke this morning with David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” playing in my head……and somehow connected it to Dorothy’s red shoes from the Wizard of Oz and the idea of travelling through time. Physicists believe one of the most difficult questions to answer is ‘what is time?’ and St Augustine is quoted as saying “I know what time is until you ask me for a definition about it, and then I can’t give it to you.”
The idea of travelling through time made me think of how our perception of time can change depending on what we are doing and experiencing. Physicists say that time can be divided into two areas, the speed of time and the direction of time. Physicists also have different ideas about whether time travel is possible because of what they call the ‘arrow of time’ in that time is moving in one direction – forward – and most agree that travelling back in time is a much more difficult proposition than possibly travelling forward in time. Physicists say that this is due to the theory of entropy that is related to the Big Bang, which proposes that everything is moving from a state of exquisite order to entropy, something that we can clearly experience as we move forward in time. [1]
So what is it about red shoes that makes them so memorable? The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved films of all time, and in many ways, it feels like Dorothy and her magical shoes belong to all of us. In the movie, the slippers represent the little guy’s ability to triumph over powerful forces.
Perhaps the symbol of the red shoes is about in some way triumphing over the powerful force of time. Beyond entropy there are powerful moments in time that are ‘captured’ that continue moving forward in time and are not ‘lost in the past’. Once when I was travelling in the ‘Outback’ for work I came across the most amazing thing. In the middle of know where was a hotel and inside was David Bowie memorabilia. Apparently this was the place the film clip was made for the video of the song “Let’s Dance” and in this place, captured in time, for those who happened to stumble across it was the memory of this magical moment.
So maybe this is how we triumph over time. We leave a mark that moves us forward in time beyond our entropy and brings magic to the world. Of course, not everyone in life will be as famous as David Bowie or Judy Garland but time does give each of us the opportunity to make our own personal mark through sharing our hearts and passions. So Let’s Dance: