Inside the Hourglass

Just moments before writing this, I flipped an hourglass over, so it may spill the contents of the upper constituent cascading down into the bottom portion, each grain of the ashy yellow sand moving of its own accord like molecules of water in a waterfall. But it caused me to wonder, what does an hourglass represent? For what purpose does it exist? Initially, the answer may seem obvious. An hourglass exists to serve as a timer, as a physical clock that ticks down and drains it's earthen resources until they are no more, in order to signal the end of a period of time. Viewed through that lens, each grain of sand that falls is similar to a miniscule measurement of time, is it not? An hourglass, a glass vessel, filled halfway with tiny grains, each one meaningless on their own, but representative of the flow of time when together. In this sense, an hourglass isn't just filled with sand, but is filled with time itself. 

But what about outside the hourglass? Is all sand in the world equivalent to time as well? Is a desert akin to an infinite ocean of chronology, ever shifting and changing, yet never distinguishable from its previous form? Sometimes, I think about these things. 

I wonder, if you were to say, "No, the sand of a desert is just sand. There's no point in comparing it to the sand of an hourglass," as you shake your head in disagreement, what would I have to say to you then?

I cannot deny the argumentative spirit that has been cultivated within me. Endless years of debating with scholars in the castle would inevitably develop such habits in a person. Due to my responsibility to one day rise to the throne, I was required to study countless topics, ranging from science of the mind - philosophy - to science of the world, like aerodynamics. The latter never ceased to bore me however, as I find no intrigue in analyzing the physical aspects of our world. I only care for that which can be understood, and I can understand nothing better than my own internal world. 

I suppose I would have to respond to your question with a question in kind. If the sand of the desert is truly different from the sand of an hourglass, what if we were to take all the sand in the world, and transport it to an infinitely large hourglass? It'd be impossible to argue that the sand in said hourglass doesn't constitute as time, just because it originates from outside of the hourglass. Then, it stands to reason, that the contents of the hourglass are inconsequential. Rather, it is the hourglass that bestows the meaning of "time" unto whatever entity resides within it. 

If such an impossibly large hourglass truly existed, and contained all the dirt, sand, and gravel in the world, such so that it forms a world of its own, what then? How can we be sure our own world, our own universe, isn't encased inside of impressively polished glass, that can never be shattered? If that were the case, then all materials, whether they make up a living being or an inanimate object, would be "time." 

If one were to break out of that an hourglass, what would await them? Kuhuhu, there surely exists a person brave enough to attempt such a thing. Perhaps it is for our own good that we are trapped inside the hourglass.