As we begin to wrap up another year, we might wonder how the time passed by so quickly.  It seems like only yesterday, we were setting our goals for the new year – now, we will be doing that again in the upcoming weeks.  How is it that each day seems to move somewhat slowly, when you are in it, but time as a whole seems to slip through our fingers?  How is it that time in the larger sense seems to move so quickly?

Time has many different “levels.”  At the lowest level, we are watching the minutes go by as we wait for a plane, an appointment, or a lecture to end.  However, at the highest level, we look back on our life as we feel our journey coming to an end, and wonder where it went.  How is it that time can be felt and experienced so differently across the levels?

When we look at time as various “moments” we can begin to understand.  As we have talked about in the past, a “moment” can span many different other moments, or at the lowest level, can be the moment of the breath that is currently in your lungs.  Time, works much the same way.  When we hold our breath for as long as we can, or find ourselves, holding up our body in a plank position, we feel the seconds tick by rather slowly.  That is the lowest level of time that we experience when we are struggling or experiencing some sense of discomfort.

When time goes by quickly, it is usually associated with either being “distracted” or when we are experiencing pleasure and happiness.  When you live a happy life, time goes by quickly – however, you also live your life more fully.  That is the dichotomy of time.

When we experience our lives to the fullest, time passes by more quickly, but we live the moment and are more intentional in our lives.  As a result, we feel that time has not slipped through our fingers.  On the other hand, when we are living in discomfort, time moves by more slowly, but we are generally not living with intention, and even though time is moving slowly we feel like it slipped through our fingers.

As such, we challenge you to reflect on the current year.  Did time seem to move slowly our quickly?  Did you generally experience a state of pleasure or discomfort over the past year?  Sometimes, when we evaluate our current view of time, it gives us a hint as to how well we are living the moment and living with intention.

InspiraCard

Time is something that keeps moving forward.  If we experience each moment with intention, we will find that time is moving at a rate that seems to slow down at our command.  However, you may find that time seems to be slipping through your unconscious “fingers” which might be a cue that you are not living with intention!

Written, Mon, Dec 1, 2014 8:02 – 8:12 AM MST