Time, we often hear, is the ultimate scarce resource. Time has value, we think. It’s lack, we fear, robs us of the ability to create what we want and become who we wish. Distractions that pull us away from our true path and deepest passions are less-profitable uses of this most precious commodity. Such inefficiency is bad, right? Allowing distraction is almost sinful, we’re told, akin to sloth and gluttony!
How It Seems To Me
by Ursula K. Le Guin
In the vast abyss before time, self
is not, and soul commingles
with mist, and rock, and light. In time,
soul brings the misty self to be.
Then slow time hardens self to stone
while ever lightening the soul,
till soul can loose its hold of self
and both are free and can return
to vastness and dissolve in light,
the long light after time. .
And yet time is free. It has been given to us with no strings attached. We spend it willingly, sometimes without thought or effort and sometimes hurriedly, afraid that this might be the day that it will be snatched away. That day, we know with certainty, is coming, and our anonymous benefactor will surely, we believe, become the reaper. So, really, is time valuable?
What if time were an illusion, made up to help us feel comfortable with the other illusions we’ve been taught to help explain how the world works? That would be freeing for some and extremely disconcerting for others. How about for you? Have you given it any thought? Thinking about this may prove to be a waste of time (!).
For me, what counts is what is present in this moment. The past is gone and the future is a dream. Sure, there’s a place for planning and strategy, forecasting and historical analysis. But what I can control is nothing more than how I choose to experience each moment. On good days, in powerful moments, I am aware of my ability to choose. Yes, there are the lizard-brain moments, too, where I react without control. Either way, those moments are gone and the next arises, full of potential.
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