Time is acting strange! It is playing tricks on me. Sometimes it seems as if it is being extended or stretched. Then in the next moment, if feels like it is accelerating!

When I think about all that has happened recently, it seems as if most of it took place months ago. It must have been months ago, it seems so distant.

On the other hand, there are things coming up right now that make me wonder how they could have come up so quickly? When these events were first planned it seems like they were so far off in the distance. Yet here they are.

So as I do this dance with time, I find myself pondering the meaning. Why does it feel like time is playing tricks on me?

What I know for sure is that a couple of months ago (which seems like yesterday), I made a decision to stay “present”. The idea was to catch myself if my mind was running stories, plans or simply focused on the future.., and bring it back to the present moment. The same was true if I was replaying or obsessing about the past.

You know, I’ve done pretty good. I have been developing a pattern or habit of coming back to the present moment. And here in lies a potential clue as to why time is playing games with my head.

When I am present and living in the moment, Time is spacious. When I slip into the past, or project myself into the future… Time gets distorted. This is the likely origin of this odd sensation.

So the question becomes., what is it that takes me out of living in the present moment? And the answer is ‘thoughts and emotions’! The staples of human existence!

When we engage with what is right in front of us, we are in the present moment. We use our mind (thoughts) to navigate and we are aware of how the situation makes us feel (emotions).

However when we start to makeup stories about what these current events mean, we either start trying to predict their implications or relating them to previous situations. We have begun to create a story. This means we are no longer in the present moment.

We have shifted the time table forward or back.

How quickly we have the ability to recognize that we are now acting or reacting from our stories, determines how quickly we return to the present moment.

I know for me, this means that even though I am doing much better at being in the moment, I still have plenty of opportunities to practice this even more. Otherwise, I would not be having this sensation of time playing tricks on me!

It is humbling to realize that it isn’t time at all that is behind the distortions I am experiencing. It is how and where I let my mind wander and the stories I tell myself that create the appearance of accelerated or stretched time!

I am ready for a renewed level of focus of living in the moment. It’s time to let go of the idea that time is a trickster!

With Light, Love, and Laughter
Charles