As it is customary, many entertain the idea of starting a new year resolution, and that is fine. Change is usually a good thing. However, when talking about “New” and “Time” there is something I would like you to think about as you set upon starting your resolution. Think about how you decided on which resolution to make and you will see that it started with a conversation in your head about that idea; that thought.
We “are” because, as humans, we have “Thought,” we think. Yet, at times I wonder if this ability to think is a blessing or a curse. It could be a curse, if we dwell upon a negative past or if we fear the future; Times that exist only in our minds. It can be an inspiration if we imagine a future with hope and positive expectations and remember our experiences in the past as lessons learned. It can be an inspiration if we think of our future from the present positive tense (Thinking now. Thinking positive). After all, just “Being” in the Present is in itself the ultimate Positive State. It is a point in Time when the past, the present, and the future become the straight line we live on. This line is where there are three moving points that comprise the duration of our existence: point number one, we’re born; point number two, we live life, and point number three, we die—or, as I describe it in my book, we simply run out of Life.
Yes, like you, I learned and became accustomed to thinking about Time and Life as a cyclical occurrence. I found that this way of thinking is no different from thoughts about the Earth as being flat.
Life in “Time” is a straight line simply because there is never a precise repetition of any Thing or any Time. Time is an indefinite straight line through our lives and through nature. We age, nature ages, the planet ages, and that’s just how it is. There is no old Time and there is no new Time. Enigmatically, Time allows us the opportunity to experience a fresh sense of Presence in the Now. It allows us to always be new even as we grow old. This is so simply because we have never lived Now before.
There is no past Time or future Time; there is only the Present; the only Time when we can remember life experiences lived in a Time past and imagine life yet to be lived and which promise will only have value to those of us who awake in the morning. Still, keep in mind that the idea of Tomorrow—and it is just an idea—is only a penciled-in promise of an imaginary Time to come. “Now” is as real as it gets.
There is no “fast” Time and no “slow” Time. There are only our perceptions that Time flies, travels slow, or stands still.
Before I move on, I want to address a common misconception we hear all the time, “Perception is reality.” This sounds good, but “reality” is in fact independent of “perception.” They’re not the same thing. Same and “very similar” are not the same things. As far as Time is concerned, a minute is still sixty seconds long. Nevertheless, “perception” is real in whose mind it resides and may serve as a coping mechanism that allows one a way to deal with reality, its effects, and how we make sense of it. Because it is experiential, however, there is no right or wrong perception. There is just yours and there is mine. Perhaps you may find that our ability to have a meeting of the minds is best when we have very similar perceptions about a present reality.
I digress. Sometimes I wonder if this human ability to think is a trick played upon us by God or is it simply intelligent design? I do not know the answer or even if there is a definitive one that would satisfy everybody.
From the Present, we can remember a Time in the past or imagine ourselves at a Time in the future. We can actually contemplate Times when life does not exist from a Time when it does, the Present. Please do not simply dismiss this as obvious, be mindful of it. If it is impossible to have two thoughts in our minds at the same time, and I believe it is, then we spend most of our lives ignoring the reality that we are “Being” in the Now. We are either thinking about what was or what is to be. Thinking about what “is” is not something we do a lot of and this lapse may be attributable to being constantly distracted and moving too fast in a world that is seemingly spinning out of control. Being mindful of this gives me a more positive appreciation for Life with respect to Time, with respect to “Being” in the Present Positive Tense, and not just being alive, but mindfully living with hope, purpose, and passion. In other words, I am mindful that I have the power to control distractions and the speed with which I choose to live. I have since slowed down and when I awake in the morning it is not just to smell the coffee but to taste Life one sip at a time. Cheers!!
There is a new conversation in my head about my life in Time. It is about always being mindful of my own presence in the Now as I am and as everything and everyone “Is.” After you read my book, you too will have your own new conversation. This new conversation may inform you regardless what resolution you may contemplate.
It’s Now O’ Clock. Have a great Life!
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