This text critically examines Henri Bergson's conception of consciousness, which he defines as the intersection of memory (preserving the past) and anticipation (foreseeing the future). The author argues that the preservation of what no longer exists is not a unique feature of consciousness but a fundamental characteristic of all reality, often termed 'inertia.' This inertia should not be viewed merely as a passive property of material nature but as an active process of persistence. Without such stabilizing forces—analogous to those holding protons together—the universe could not exist as a coherent whole. The text challenges the conventional understanding of inertia as a mental construct that overlooks the underlying 'work' of subjects in maintaining continuity. Ultimately, it suggests that consciousness relies on this inherent persistence of the world to function. By linking ontology with the phenomenology of consciousness, the reflection calls for a critical reassessment of physical categories and emphasizes the essential role of temporal continuity in the existence of the cosmos.