A revelation or discovery must come as a surprise, but that is only the beginning of its integration into the guidance system. It can make a lasting difference in your map of the world, and thus become a better habit, only to the extent that its representation is tested against your experience of the reality beyond the map. The surprise is the spark, the trigger, sending you out on the path of inquiry. In order to grow into meaning, seed-signs need the water of life, which is your current experience; it also requires the soil, which is the residue of all past experience, the accumulated habits of the biosphere. And like all of the learning, development and evolution taking place on this planet, it also requires the sun (energy) and the continuous turning-out of time.
Present awareness, or awareness of what is currently happening, cannot be separated from memory of past events, or from anticipation of future events. Time, as the presence of impermanence, is simply the means by which the future both differs and continues from the already-determined, unalterable past. Experience is memory, while experiencing is time.