No time like the present.
An essay by Maggie Stevens.
We think of time as measured and exact.
60 seconds equals 1 minute.
60 minutes equal 1 hour.
24 hours equal 1 day and so on.
However,
Our modern clock and calendar are constructs,
Something humans created to bring more order and to give us the illusion of control.
Our early ancestors kept much more fluid sense of time.
Hunters and gatherers measured time by the movement of the herds and the ripening of wild berries.
Early farmers kept time by their planting and harvesting seasons.
Modern humans believe that 24 hours equals one day.
End of discussion.
However,
Researchers in the 1960s found that subjects living deep underground with no influence from the sun developed a 24-hour day with 36 hours of awake time and 12 hours of sleeping.
Albert Einstein posited that neither space nor time were constant but rather warped and bent in response to gravitational fields.
Even our own lived experience tells us that time expands and shrinks.
Waiting for an important call from your doctor can make the hours crawl by.
Time spent with loved ones or savoring a favorite dessert flies by quickly.
When we are lost in a favorite activity,
Whether hiking,
Reading,
Dancing,
Painting,
Exercising,
We experience flow and we lose track of time altogether.
We could learn something from the other species on the planet.
We could remember to keep our minds right where our feet are,
Right here in the present moment.
Our minds can travel back and forth through times.
Where is that cringeworthy sarcasm I used yesterday?
It's back in the past with Abe Lincoln and the T-Rex and there is nothing I can do to change that moment.
Where is the possible outcome that I've been obsessing over?
It's in the future with flying cars and my great great grandchildren.
Our bodies can only live in the present.
If you would like to bring more presence into your day,
Check in with the body.
Take a deep breath.
Feel your feet connected to the ground.
Connect to your senses.
What do you see?
Hear?
Smell?
Touch?
Or taste?
Rather than jumping into the next activity,
Take a breath and be present.
Notice the taste of your breakfast.
Enjoy the trees on your walk.
Listen and make eye contact with the person who's speaking without thinking of your own response.
The future is coming and no amount of eagerness or worry will make it come more quickly or slow it down.
Corrie Ten Boom,
The Dutch clockmaker,
Said,
Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.
It only empties today of its strength.
So our takeaway message is to get out of our heads and back down into our bodies and senses.
When?
Well,
There's no time like the present.
Thank you for listening to this talk.
I wish you well as you walk your path.
May you be surrounded by metta.
May you be safe and protected.
May you be peaceful and content.
May you be healthy and resilient.
And may you live with ease.
