Time

Time is a fleeting thing. It flows from the future to the present and into the past in an instant moment. Time is one of the most precious commodities, resources and gifts we have to give and to share with ourselves and others. What I find somewhat tragic is those periods of time in which I do not know where time went. It was not memorable; it was ill-spent on a trivial matter or worry. The best moments are those that make a deep impression upon our minds. I find it is those moments where my mind is totally undivided and filled with intense focus or profound emotions. 

Time has a way of being fast or slow in my mind depending on the event. It seems like some anticipated events in our life would never get here, yet as we get closer and closer to the time of the event, the time flees in a wink of an eye. I find when I have a deadline, time goes by so fast as I get closer and closer to it. Please tell me why time seems to go by so slow when I am waiting in a doctor’s office reception area or when I am in a dentist’s chair getting my teeth examined or when I am engaged in intense exercise where I need to do something for a certain amount of time.

I guess it is all a matter of perspective. When I am in a joyous frame of mind doing something I really enjoy, like painting or reading, time goes by quickly. I am so totally into the activity that I do not have the sense of time. I am not paying attention to time. That’s it. I am not attentive to the time, therefore it passes by.

Savoring the moment with our loved ones should equally be memorable. To attend to them and really focus on their presence, attentively listening is really important. It is one of the most loving gestures we can do for our loved ones, friends and family. Actually, would it not be nice to do that for people we do not know? Our world would be so much better particularly in our immediate communities, if we simply give everyone we interact with our time. Let it not be divided with thoughts and technology (mobile phones and tablets). Some of my best experiences are when I go out and run errands where I engage in meaningful conversations with other people in the store, in the check line and with store attendants. Everyone is truly a potential friend. It is within our power to make someone’s day (or the flip of that). I prefer to make someone’s day.

Marking those times in our life with being attentive to the moment makes it memorable. How do we mark it? We make it memorable by focusing on the people who are with us at that time and by focusing on what we are doing. We take notice of what we are touching, seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling; we take notice with all our senses to mark that moment in time. Time is too valuable to be allowed to fleet away without notice. It is time to notice time.