Learning from time

Time.

Hourglass.

Sands moving through time.

What if you could stop a grain of sand in time?  If you could what would you do with this moment?

The reality is we focus on it passing.  Like in the hourglass we see each moment slipping away.  We focus on time passing. We focus on what has passed or is to pass.  

What if we could focus on each grain of sand?  

If we look at this hourglass we can do more. We can completely turn it over and start again.  Wow! What if we could do this with time in our life? What if we could have the do over. Not like Ground Hog day. No more like learning from our mistakes and our wins.  We could capture the essence of our experience and take this forward with us into the next moment.  

What if we could learn from time?  

Well we are learning from time. It just depends on whether we pay attention or not, right?  Yet we can also be in overload if all we do is focus on learning.  It is exhausting to be in a continual cycle of learning and growth.  If we are always in this learning phase or state we miss out on the living and enjoying parts, right?  

What if time is for learning and living?

So imagine this.  See this lovely vessel of time. Break the glass and take the sand out. Spread it out as far as you can see. Now sit with this image and consider what you see.  What does it mean for you to see each of these grains of sand there for you  to notice. Are you stopping time?  No. Are you stopping how you look at time? Yes.  In this state time is not running out or going anywhere. Time stops.  We pause. We breathe. We live in the moment we choose.

Now pick up each grain of sand one by one and look at it. Each of these grains is a moment you can appreciate. Each of these grains is a moment you can have to enjoy, live and be. The power you have is to choose which grain, how many, which order etc.  Essentially the removal of the container allows you to be the one who creates perspective.

Break the hold time has on you and see what you can do when you create your own container.

To bring this back to reality lets acknowledge that our world runs by the clock.  We have appointments, schedules, opening and closing times, hours of business, in session and out of session.  The constraint and limit of time in our society is real and accepted. So breaking the hold of time is expected to be a bit challenging.  This is what makes it fun and interesting. Where can you find the space to do so? Where can you create the opportunity to break open the hourglass?

Sit with what the time actually is allowing you to do and be. Notice and play with how you are living within the parameters of time.

See what happens when you break open your hourglasses of time.

When you look at this sand there is no distinction between past, present and future.  Odd concept right?  For purposes of this writing though it can be interesting. Pick up one grain and it’s about a moment you did something last week. Pick up another grain and it’s a moment in the future where you might be doing the same thing.  When you hold both you can consider the learning and opportunity for change.  Then you hold up another grain and this one is for the exact moment in time you are in right now.  What will you do with this moment knowing all you know?

When you crack open that hourglass it could be for an hour, week, year even longer.  

What might you experience when you change the way you see time?  Well lets name a few possible outcomes: joy, fun, happiness, excitement, peace of mind, excitement, relaxation, curiosity, interest, calmness.  I am not guaranteeing that all these experiences will be yours. However I will say that when you stop and change the way you look at time you will invite and open up to the possibility of living a richer life. You may also realise and appreciate your own knowing from your time.