SHADOWTIME

(definition reprinted from the Bureau of Linguistical Reality)

noun

A parallel timescale that follows one around throughout day to day experience of regular time. Shadowtime manifests as a feeling of living in two distinctly different temporal scales simultaneously, or acute consciousness of the possibility that the near future will be drastically different than the present.

One might experience shadowtime while focused on goal oriented conversations, tasks and planning for life as we have known it—(college, career or occupational ambitions).  During such moments there is a creeping sense of concerns that would make all said planning obsolete or seem unimportant, i.e. the collapse of the Larson B Ice Shelf that will accelerate sea level rise. Shadowtime may also occur when one is preparing a meal for their child and suddenly realizes that an endemic flower that had evolved over 42.7 million years has gone extinct within their child’s lifetime. 

Shadowtime is not exclusively a negative experience as demonstrated with epoquietude. It can make one reflect quietly on the tricksterish desire and escapism lying behind apocalyptic vision, as well as catalyzing an embrace of the unknown and a counteraction to anthropocentric hubris. While one may feel that shadowtime follows them always, the sudden experience of the presence of shadowtime amid day to day activities is often extremely disorienting.

GARDEN

(definition reprinted from The American Heritage Dictionary)

noun

  1. a. A plot of land used for the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, herbs, or fruit.
    b. An arrangement of living material that is cultivated for food, as a fungus garden maintained by ants.
  2. often  gardens Grounds laid out with flowers, trees, and ornamental shrubs and used for recreation or display: public gardens; a botanical garden.
  3. A yard or lawn.
  4. A fertile, well-cultivated region.
  5. a. An open-air establishment where refreshments are served.
    b. A large public auditorium or arena.