*Starry Night on the Rhone* by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)

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“The past is always tense, and the future perfect.” — Zadie Smith, 2000

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This is going to sound weird, but time travel has been on my mind this week.

With the advent of the solar eclipse (I daresay you heard that North America had an eclipse? If not, then I don’t know that you have the wherewithal to be reading this newsletter.), it made me consider the time-space continuum.

What’s the connection to history? And why does it matter for leaders? Stay with me.

You see, during a total solar eclipse in 1919, astronomer and physicist Arthur Eddington observed from Príncipe Island that gravity bent the path of light. And it aligned with what Albert Einstein predicted in his general theory of relativity, which linked time and space.

Eddington went on to help popularize relativity and the idea that the universe was expanding. When asked how many people really understood his theories of universal expansion, he replied, “Perhaps seven.”

What an opportunity for him — to be able to teach other people about the wonders of the universe!

If we pay attention, the world has much to teach us, and it doesn’t all have to come from our lived experiences. The stories of other inspirational people, regardless of time and space can apply, if we’re willing to learn.

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Past Tense

The eclipse also made me think of one novel from the 1890s about time travel, which unintentionally led me to one of its contemporaries, and conclusion about how we treat each other.

Mark Twain’s 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court features Henry Morgan, an engineer who is transported to 6th century England, thanks to a blow to the head. He finds himself a rival to the magician Merlin, and begins to use his knowledge of the past to give him an advantage.

In one scene, he prevents his execution by making them believe he can make the sun disappear — as the date coincides with a solar eclipse. It works, and they free him.

During his visit, he attempted to modernize the feudal system, as he realized that the peasants were being taken advantage of by the aristocracy.

He observed that the people of England were a hard-working, industrious people who deserved more:

“And yet they were not slaves, not chattels. By a sarcasm of law and phrase they were freemen. Seven-tenths of the free population of the country were of just their class and degree: small “independent” farmers, artisans, etc.; which is to say, they were the nation, the actual Nation; they were about all of it that was useful, or worth saving, or really respect-worthy…”

But when it came to the upper class, he was less than effusive:

“…a king, nobility and gentry, idle, unproductive, acquainted mainly with the arts of wasting and destroying, and of no sort of use or value in any rationally constructed world.”

The servant class there blindly accepted whatever their lords did, as they had no alternative.

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Future Imperfect

In 1895, H.G. Wells wrote what is considered to be the definitive time-travel novel of science fiction: The Time Machine.

Also set in England, this features an unnamed time traveler who uses a machine he invented to traverse the eras. He finds himself not in the past, but in the future: 802,701 A.D., to be precise.

The strange land is occupied by a race of people called the Eloi, a peaceful and child-like humanoids who live in futuristic dwellings amid a paradise-like garden setting. They have no curiosity or discipline, are generally happy and live carefree lives, except for their fear of the night.

The time traveler realizes that with no intellectual or physical challenges, the Eloi have lost what it means to be human — their spirit and intelligence have all but vanished.

Below the surface, he finds another group people: Morlocks. This brutal community lives in darkness, operating the machinery and industry that make the idyllic world of the future possible.

While underground, the time traveler sees the Morlocks eating a strange meat, coming to the horrific conclusion that the Morlocks are raising the Eloi like cattle and using them as a food supply. They only emerge at night, to capture and kill their prey.

“It seemed to me that I had happened upon humanity upon the wane. The ruddy sunset set me thinking of the sunset of mankind. For the first time I began to realise an odd consequence of the social effort in which we are at present engaged. And yet, come to think, it is a logical consequence enough. Strength is the outcome of need; security sets a premium on feebleness.”

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Each of those stories about the human condition — past and future — give us a glimpse of our present.

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Present and Accounted For

Think about the leaders you see today. How are they treating the people they’re supposed to serve?

If they’re more akin to the nobility of King Arthur’s court or the oppressive Morlocks, is it any surprise that people are dissatisfied with their station?

We are all leaders, whether in our families, at work, or among communities of interest. Remember, as I say on Timeless Leadership, “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”

In those situations, we can hope to be less like nobility and overlords and more like colleagues who lead with empathy, respect, humility, and values that underscore our humanity and connection with each other.

Sometimes, taking a journey back in time — as we do here each week — provides a powerful lesson of what is possible in our future.

I’d love to help you reconnect with the values that make you who you are, and use those to help you lead. It’s what I do.

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There’s so much to learn,

Did you miss these previous related editions?

“You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive” — reflection and observation matter in how we show up.

What caused a doctor’s skepticism about information overload, and the origins of Amazon from 150 years ago.