“A little bit of something,” so they say, “is better than a whole lot of nothing.” Are they right? Time and experience teach us that sometimes, the right kind of nothing is worth far more than the wrong kind of something. How we perceive a little bit of time is significant to how we allocate a whole lot of space.
Time goes by very fast. We continue to witness this phenomena from hour to hour, month to month, year to year, decade to decade. Life never remains still. Like bubbles on the surface of water, life arises as suddenly as it disappears, from human beings to insects to viruses and each with a different life span. Human beings can typically live to about one hundred, while some insects are born at dawn and dead by dusk. To such an insect, one day is the equivalent of one hundred years in human life. Dolphins and elephants have the ability to live to ninety, while flies and mosquitoes can only live for a period of about seven days. Yet, this is still a lifetime. Viruses likely perish in less than four hours. And although there is a huge difference between one hundred years and four hours, nevertheless, each existence spans a lifetime. However, in the unlimited extent of time and space, these lengths of time are still quite brief.
Time and space have direct and significant impacts on our daily lives. Without effective timing, we may move too quickly or too slowly, which may bring about the resentment of others. We often use time and space to measure our successes or manage interpersonal relationships, which ultimately enlighten us to how effective we are. Each individual is allotted the same amount of time in a single day, yet some people never seem to have enough. For some, every second counts. For others, time passes painfully slow, causing the days to feel like years.
There are many different types of people and circumstances throughout this life. Some are homeless and impoverished, while others possess so much land that they even want to own a piece of the moon. Many are stressed by work and depressed by life. When the days become unbearable, they detour for a vacation abroad in an effort to find new ways to release. This kind of effort relieves the pressing complexity but can never completely liberate one’s state of mind, time, and space. Therefore, one must master how to mentally liberate himself within his immediate space of time.
One unfortunate condition of much of today’s society is that we are blessed with the gift of life in a single time capsule but too often, we forget to appreciate the magic that has brought us here. Time is the arbiter of one’s character. Rich or poor, right or wrong, love or hatred, success or failure, noble or base – a person’s true character will become evident over time. Time is most impartial. The poor do not have a minute less; the rich do not have a second more. Time and space cannot be hoarded with all the power and might in the universe but we can use time to set us backward or push us forward. Likewise, we can use time to gain a little or gather a lot – of living, loving, listening, and learning.
Mindfulness teaches us that when we pay attention, everything becomes our teacher. Such examples may include failing an examination, being rejected by a partner, giving an unplanned birth, being in a car accident, missing a flight (only to discover that you escaped a crash with no survivors) or even facing a death of a loved one, friend – or foe. These are dreadful examples of intolerable space and time and can happen to anyone at any moment in time. Life is fragile and illusive like a flower. Therefore, we should learn to do a better job with how we receive and respect time…and the people who are assigned to our space and on our watch. Regardless of how we decide to maneuver through life, the only real-time we have to apply is within the present moment.
Over time, we have all made strides, compromises, and mistakes too. How many of us would make different choices and changes if only time and space would allow us to rewind? Time and space are immense without an outer limit, yet minuscule without an inner limit. Our daily lives are integrally related to time and space and therefore, we can never be separated from it. Perhaps, we could learn to use the tools of time to measure the magic of life instead of measuring the minutes on the clock. Life would become more fulfilling and our duration of experiences would develop a greater sense of quality, rather than quantity.
We have now arrived at the beginning of the second month of the New Year of 2015. The power of now grants us the ability to reflect, restore, and reboot in a timely fashion and too, a greater opportunity to consider what we wish to renew and accomplish in the months ahead. Even when we aren’t moving along – in essence, time is.
This month, don’t be in a hurry to get a result. Utilize the tools you already have and think hard about exactly what you are trying to achieve and where you would like to go next with your life. No matter where you are on your journey, time and space will always reveal that it is much better to be left with a gap that needs to be filled – than to lead a life that’s absolutely full to the brim with everything that you don’t really want or need.
Love and Light for your Tuesday!