Time
“I don’t have enough time!”. “Where did the ‘time’ go?”. The way we manage our lives greatly influences our experience of life, and ourselves. If we perceive that we “don’t have enough time”, we may begin to experience pressure—self-imposed pressure. This experience can generate symptoms of anxiety, releasing stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, accompanied by a myriad of thoughts which race back and forth, and everywhere. Is this how we want to experience life? No. Well, I would think that this is an unpleasant experience, and therefore, this would not be our first choice. However, many of us do, and do on a daily basis. Year, after year.
So what is time? Seriously. What is time? Well, time is constant, an ever-changing, something. Can you touch time? Can you smell time? Can you hear time? Can you taste time? Can you see time? We cannot. We can remember our experiences through accessing long-term memories and bringing them out into our working memory, but we cannot see time. Time allows us to reflect on events. Time provides structure and limits or constraints. But what is time? Time is a human-made construct. Nothing more. It is a word, with a defining element, but a word nonetheless. Time is a manner in which we measure our life. “Time” is limiting. We distort our lives by our conceptions of “time”. So, what is time to you? What is time for you?
Time is a word, nothing more and nothing less. It is a measure to assist us in managing our lives. Or, so we believe. However, are we not mismanaging our lives by viewing life through the lenses of constraints and limitations? What is the effect of this approach as a measure of life? Ultimately, it appears, that many of us experience increased pressure, stress, anxiety, and even alterations in mood as a result of this perception that “time is running out”, or “I don’t have enough time!”. Without going down a philosophical rabbit hole, I encourage you to reflect on how you view time in your life and ask yourself, what is time for you?. Reflections are extremely important to understand how we are experiencing the moment, how we experience our lives.
“It is time to change.”, “The time is now.”, “What time is it?”. Anxiety, Anxiety. Anxiety!
I am encouraging introspection here, a way to think about the way to speak, and the way we communicate with others and ourselves. Our perceptions and our conceptions of what we believe to be true or factual is not necessarily accurate all of the time. I smiled when I finished that sentence, and my use of “time”. It has become so commonplace to use words that don’t make sense to convey our messages.
The practice of trying is important. I will try not to limit myself. The only truth is the now. I cannot relive past events, and I cannot foretell future events. So why try doing so? I can however experience the moment. In doing so, I can experience life. I am typing. This is my current experience and it is tangible as my fingers touch the keys, as my eyes read the words, as my ears hear the movement of the keys (as well as a fan working). I can smell hot chocolate, and I can enjoy the flavor when I take a sip. Experiencing life in the moment is all that I can experience. Taking the time to do so is the key. I am not limited or constrained. I am here.
Please try and practice for yourself, too.
