The way we experience time is not the same for everyone, and it changes for us moment-to-moment. NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) is the study of the structure of experience, and our subjective experience relative to time is about as subjective as one can get….
This past December, January, and February our time “flew” while we were spending the winter as snowbirds in Southwest Florida.
Then COVID-19 came onto the scene and everything about time changed.
We spent 4 weeks (Sunday, March 15 to Sunday, April 5) safe-sheltering in paradise. We continue to safe-shelter now that we are home.
I was very busy the last week we were in Florida getting ready to travel back to Michigan. We had finally received the written report on our home having passed the air-quality test following EXTENSIVE mold remediation work. I made food, packed our belongings, took drinking water, bleach water, home-made urinals, and rubber gloves. We drove straight through, with two short rest periods, and were in the van twenty-five-and-one-half hours.
Arriving home, was anything but easy. Post-construction chaos spread from one end of the house to the other.
I had no time for leisure. I completed 22 one-thousand piece, and one two-thousand piece puzzles during my time in Florida.
My days were long and nights were short as I cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned (did I say I cleaned?) before I could even unpack.
Whether it is clear to you or not, each day is 24 hours, and each hour is 60 minutes.
What are you doing with your time now that you have so much time on your hands? My neighbor and a friend are each sewing masks. Another friend is deep cleaning her home. Some people are napping. A lot of people are on ZOOM.
I found this quotation online: If you only had 24 hours to live, you wouldn’t ever think about laying on your bed all day … I think we’d all wish in those last 24 hours for a little more time to live.
Our perception of time has been radically altered by the imposed social-distancing, but time has not changed.
Close your eyes and imagine you have been given the opportunity to spend (not waste) this day. What wonderful, creative, inspiring, restorative things are you imagining? I am very grateful I love the practice of meditation.
Imagine the next few days unfolding into the next several weeks. Imagine being way beyond all of this and look back now and see yourself being very grateful for the time you had. (I wrote in my blog that my claim to fame might be that I peed in the van from Florida to Michigan during the pandemic of 2020).
Writing is one of the things I love. You have time now to have, do, be, and rest. This time is the rest of your life. It is time to enjoy it….
It is Time
It is time
(We know)
Possibilities lie beyond this moment now;
You are ready.
Let us join hands
Go to a place where new dreams are born-
(Listen. Our names are being called!)
We can go
(I hope)
To a place where the forlorn gather
When the heart yearns for relief;
Done with things as they are-
Just that.
We are done.
Travel to heaven comes not without peril
But the path is clearly written within your own chest-
Just say yes!
Your feet will find their way, one sure step and then the next
For it is time
We will be safe, rest assured.
Let’s set off now
Sail the seas of satisfaction to the shores
Of eternal serenity;
Hear the sounds of true solace
No more singing the dirge;
Music made from the instrument of sheer joy
Resonating with each precious soul
Suffering no more (Pray tell!) not we
We who know it truly is time.
Debra Basham 6-22-2018