Time… A Friend or Foe?

This second post of many to come… will not satisfy your search for “10 tips to living a happier life…” or … “A blueprint to success in a competitive market…” or “How to… do this or do that”.

Yes, there are some golden nuggets in all of those books… And one truth that sticks out is that Gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for into your life. I’ll get back to this in a moment. 

Instead, my only objective (if you want to call it that) is to point you in a direction to become aware of what’s causing the seemingly never-ending struggle in day-to-day life. 

Think about how many self-help books you’ve read… about all the motivational seminars you’ve attended… think about the seemingly ‘good material’ you’ve read and studied in hopes of constant and never-ending improvement. 

Millions of us have searched and dug through the piles of self-improvement media for happiness – for meaning. 

Lao Tzu once wrote…

“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.”

First Verse, Tao Te Ching

Now, look around as you head out to work, to the grocery store, or the shopping mall and notice the exterior – the world of form, what Lau Tzo called the “ten thousand things” … and find a facade of ‘well-to-do’ humans.  Judging from their outfits, the cars they drive, where they eat, the smiles, the laughs… and all seems well. 

The Biggest ‘Cover-Up’ Disguised as ‘Happiness’

But dip a tad deeper into the world of ‘Ten Thousand Things’, as Lao Tsu calls it, and you’ll find a collective blot of pain.   An underlying aura of stress. A nagging itch of fear. An in-the-background veil of inner suffering. 

Why are so many (a majority) of us humans infected with this ugly lingering film of fear?

My answer may surprise you because it does not echo the usual retorts we expect; work-life imbalance, debt, imperfect spouses, dead-end jobs, money problems… No.

My answer is simply – TIME.

Psychological Time Restricts The Flow of Life?

But I am not talking about time ‘restraints’.  No, it’s all about living your life with the concept of time… running each area of your existence.

Before your mind goes the “He’s wacked out” route… stay with me and I’ll do what I promised… which is point you in a direction – a direction you haven’t heard before, but may set a chain of events to make life flow naturally, comfortably, enjoyably. 

We’ve heard the passages “Don’t be anxious for tomorrow”… “Let go and let God”… “Live in the moment…”

What do these truths really mean and how does this relate to TIME?

Think about the essence of the word time.  Time consists of past, present, and future.  

Now think about what the word “thought” really means.   When we Think… it’s usually about the past or the future.  Not the present. 

In a job interview… you’re thinking… “Did I wear the right outfit?”… “Were my references good enough?”… “Will they like me?”… “Will they actually call me back?”

Notice all of those thoughts are about the past or future – not the present.

Do you follow?

Because if you were truly in the present moment – you would have no worries… because worry can only be about something that happened in the past or about something that may come in the future. Some very smart people even profess that when you are truly in the present moment… thought stops.

Play along with me and I’ll tie all of this back to my earlier statement about ‘Gratitude’ bringing more things to be grateful for.  

Now, ask yourself this question.  Do you ever really experience the future?  Or the past?… outside of the present?   Simply put, the future never comes outside of the now.  When the future finally comes… it comes in the form of NOW – the present.

And when you experienced the past, the present moment is when it was experienced.  Therefore, the future never comes and the past is only a dream.

I know this all sounds off the wall but stay with me.  (Remember, I asked you to play along)

I do not consider myself a religious person, but I do believe that some higher power has brought us to where we are now.  In fact, the only thing we have is the Now.  LIFE is the Now. 

And if LIFE is the now, but we’re constantly thinking… about the past or future… we are shunning life itself.  

We are ‘ungrateful’ for the now.

And if we are ungrateful for the now… we are ungrateful for Life Itself at that moment. Imagine how many moments are like this.

I know I may get some harsh reactions to my statements, so let me add a side note.

Does truly ‘living in the now’ mean you should negate your responsibilities in the future or ignore mistakes from the past that can be corrected in the future?

Absolutely not.

I am not talking about an outer ignorance toward the past or future.  I am, however, talking about an inner acceptance of the now.  And true acceptance cannot come if our complete attention is constantly on the past or future.  

You may be asking, “Mike, how do I stop thinking about the past or future?  Better yet, is it even possible to not ‘think’?”

My intention for this post is not to tell you ‘what to do’.  And I’m not here to tell you what NOT to do either.

Again, I want to point you in the right direction.

Since all those ‘self-help’ books haven’t worked for you so far… why not consider something that’s been in front of you this whole time.  In fact, consider that it may BE who you ARE on the deepest level possible. The Now.