Time

Time

Time is a mysterious entity. Everyone has a notion of Time. Time may appear slow and steady or may appear fast and furious. Time illustrates our nature of thoughts and our quality of life. I would like to contrast two experiences regarding Time and leave the matter to the Reader to consider how he/she would like to build the relation with Time.

Time can be slow and steady – Slow is to be treated as having a lot of interludes of silence and observation of things around us – we observe people, their reactions or responses, we observe perceptions, we observe our own thoughts, we observe how other life forms co exists, how does the ecosystem supports all. We learn and respect the interdependence of systems, we become patient, we become tolerant and we become compassionate towards all things that can be controlled and those that can’t be controlled. We learn that we are not different from any other life form and we do not do things to others, that would harm us as well. We involve ourselves in situations whole heartedly – we may make mistakes, but if observed and learnt correctly, we get the confidence to move ahead. We understand how our mind operates, how it causes billions of emotions to be generated in us. We learn to befriend our own selves, we are gentle towards our mind and know that sometimes, the mind must be left to itself. We wonder at the magnitude of events happening in the universe. We wonder how tiny we are, yet how strongly we continue to cling to our thoughts – evenif they may cause us harm. Continuous observation of this tendency leads to revelation of our nature as humans. We understand that we exist in limitations of birth and death – however, we can still hope to create the best of experiences to cherish. All these readings come automatically, ONLY IF, we let ourselves learn. Only if, we decide to pause. Only if, we let go off many things that we insist on having everyday. Only if, we accept that we are not super-humans who need to work at 100% efficiency always. Only if, we believe that things will work out good – we just need to enjoy ourselves along the way.

Time can be fast and furious – By fast, I mean that we are engrossed in too much planning, running and trying to be efficient all the time. That we think we are out of the race, if we falter, or show a sign of weakness or do something stupid. OR that we will be unacceptable to the society and be debarred from mixing with everyone. That we need to prove a point for our own survival or ‘rights’ or our own advancement or security. That we need to have a fat bank balance, a wonderful family, a controlled situation and so on. That ‘paradise’ is a destination which will be accomplished only if we keep doing something and keep running. That we keep competing with others and make our presence felt to all. That we keep packing thousand things in a micro second for maximizing output and ensuring 100% returns. That we keep barking on others to perform well since our liability is dependent on their commitments. That we keep shouting, talking, analyzing, questioning, so we appear ‘busy’ and not available for ‘trivial’ stuff. That we continue to run, so as to ‘arrive’ at some destination. That we can’t afford to make mistakes and waste time in improving. That we can’t afford to be patient for others to evolve and be compassionate towards them. That we can’t afford to ‘listen’ to anything at all. That we are so busy, that we become strangers to ourselves! That we are so busy, that we don’t know where we are heading, what we are doing, who are we working for, who are we loving, what seems to be happening around us, when does the sun rise or set (or does the earth move or the sun moves) and so on. That before we realize, we become the Living – Dead.

What should we choose?....