Absurd – Our Unhealthy Attachment with Time

We are obsessed with time!  Just over the last two days, I was reminded how we often let time make decisions on our behalf.  It really seems that the frenzy of the season doesn’t matter.  People seem to be constantly in a hurry to get to wherever they are going as if every minute is a matter of life or death.  We are all familiar with the term “make every minute count” and it’s clear some people take that advice with intensity.

Just today for example, I was approaching a stoplight when someone came up quickly behind me in order to make it to the turning lane to my left just as the light turned red.  Suddenly, the person zipped in behind me following just off my rear bumper only to make a quick U-turn a block up the street to turn around, approach the light we just left, and make the turn they originally wanted.  Waiting the 3-4 minutes for another green light was just too much to ask for the driver.

Yesterday while shopping, I was selecting an item off the shelf and took a step back to review what I selected when someone hurriedly pushed up behind to proclaim rather gruffly “dude pay attention” before he pushed aside and up the aisle he went.  Both situations reminded me that these individuals simply couldn’t wait for even a few moments.  While I can’t be sure that either person had a real time crunch they were dealing with, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much stress these individuals must have been experiencing.

Time is an illusion.  Time is an artificial concept created to add structure to our existence.  While living without a clock would certainly introduce chaos in our modern lives, it reminds me that the ancients knew of no such constraint.  For example, while we know the Mayans had an obsession with time, their perspective was entirely different.  Modern time is viewed on a linear basis while the ancients saw time as a cycle.  Our linear perspective of time results in the kind of behavior that values time as a limited commodity that must be fiercely guarded sometimes regardless of how it may affect others.  This is how we get concepts like the “bucket list” and why we force ourselves into believing that our failure to “manage” time appropriately results in eternal bliss or damnation.

Time is the great stressor in our modern lives.  Think for a moment the words we use around the concept of time:

·       I ran out of time to finish the job.

·       Time just got away from me.

·       The time slipped right through my hands.

·       So much work to do and so little time.

·       I’m just killing time.

·       The time got away from me.

·       I’m passing the time by ….

·       Time is money.

·       His/her time was up.

·       Time flies.

·       I only have so much time to get it done.

·       ……. (and you can probably add to the list)

When it comes to matters of the spirit, every moment is timeless.  Eternity is presented to us in each breath we take.  It’s like staring at the small, almost invisible mustard seed and realizing within that tiny object is the potential for something much larger.  If you consider that many of the stars that light our night sky are entire universes, then perhaps what we believe about time may not be so obvious.  Living in the present is timeless.  This is probably why Jesus proclaimed we can experience heaven on earth – the kingdom is within us, accessible wherever and whenever we are, right NOW!

During this season when we so often get caught up rushing to and fro preparing for celebrations, remember to breathe and enjoy the eternal present moment.  Offer your awareness of the eternal that is available to all of us in each present moment as a gift to those around you, especially your loved ones.  Your total presence given selflessly is the greatest gift we can offer anyone.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting us all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

Pain – Learning’s Accelerator

Pain is one of those things most of us try to avoid because quite frankly, it’s painful.  But when we decide to trek away from pain, are we losing an opportunity?  You see pain is an ancient signal for learning.  Before the modern age, pain was the surest way to experience failure and learn from it.  While most of us no longer have to endure physical pain to learn life’s lessons, we view emotional pain with the same hesitation.

To understand this point, think back to your childhood.  Many of us learned the painful lesson not to touch a hot stove or some other harmful situation by personally experiencing it.  No matter how often our parents and others may have insisted we steer clear of the obstacle, our curiosity got the better of us and viola! a burned hand.  We learned in that immediate moment what words failed to convince us of.  We’re hard-wired to use pain for learning.  All animals are equipped this way.  Think about it. 

Pain in our lives is an accelerant to learning.  While we all profess to prefer learning from other people’s mistakes, it’s our own where we not only learn faster, but the lessons are burned (sometimes literally) into our minds.  Pain not only quickens the pace of learning, it has a tendency to stick much longer.  Every time we avoid pain then usually lengthens the time it takes to learn the valuable lessons embedded within.  The lessons we fail to learn end up circling back around on us in increasingly painful ways until we finally relent and journey through the process.  Pain is unavoidable – it’s part of the human condition.  The sooner we embrace the pain in our lives, the faster we’re able to move on.

The most profound lessons I’ve learned throughout my life have almost always come attached to pain.  Whether it’s something as simple as the proper way to swing an ax, or in ways I’ve handled important relationships or business dealings, the most life-enhancing events in my life started as seeds of pain before they blossomed into something beautiful.

Next time you find yourself staring into the face of pain look for the lessons to be learned.  Embrace pain as a companion knowing that what you are about to learn will serve to make you a better person.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting us all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com