There is only now
- by Nathalie Willems
- Oct 11, 2017
- 3 min read
It’s a funny thing, time. We never seem to have enough of it and we have become masters in measuring time all ‘the time’. We use hundreds of expressions that are time related: ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’, ‘Good things take time’, ‘Being ahead of time’… and there are quite some artists that use it as a song theme: ‘Times like these’ (Foo Fighters), ‘Time after Time’ (Cyndi Lauper), ‘Time’ (Pink Floyd)…
We can experience the relativity of time. A good first kiss can seem endless, a last kiss can be gone in a second. Yet the funny thing is, time is nothing but an illusion.
There is no such thing as time. I repeat, there is no such thing as time.
Although we have watches and bell towers and even speaking clocks, time only exists in our minds. In reality, there is only the current moment, there is only now. And the moment you think about that, that now is already replaced by a new now. So time can not be grasped, even if you wanted to. Time, like water and energy, flows. With no beginning and no end.
Our experience of time as we wait in line in the grocery store is nothing more than a series of impressions and memories as we exist in one present moment that leads to the next and the next after that.
When we experience regrets about the past, the past comes alive again in our minds. When we feel fear about the future, that same future we are so anxious about, does not exist but in the construction of our thoughts. Whilst all of these mind constructions are taking place internally, externally you are still in the now. Nothing moved, nothing changed. Most of our worries, fears and problems therefor do not exist in the ‘real world’. They get created in our minds and to the extent that we buy into them and we fuel them with our attention and energy, they get created in the outer world. As the universal law says: ‘As within, so without’. All our future moments emanate from our current moment.
Sure I can think about tomorrow but when I get there, it will be now.
Now why is that so important?
Because if you truly get this principle, you will be able to reduce your stress level substantially and therefor improve your quality of life. If you are right now in your life in a space where a lot is happening: your partner might be leaving, you will need to look out for a new apartment soon, you are not sure whether you will be able to pay the bills, you are anxious about being by your self again... You can get lost in those thoughts and fears or you can be calm in the moment, breathe in and ask ourself: what step can I take right now which is going to lead me into my desired future? And then you take that step, independent of any thoughts and feelings. After that one step, you check yourself. Am I still here and what step can I take right now which is going to lead me into my desired future?
And you repeat that. Until your desired future has become your desired reality.
Is it that simple you might wonder?
In the now, it is. In your mind, it is not. That is how easy it is.
The challenge is to stay conscious. When you feel you get lost in time, read: lost in your mind/thoughts/fears…, you represent yourself to the here and now. What may support you in that is if you make use of your senses: what am I seeing right now? (without interpretation) What am I hearing? What am I smelling? Tasting?
You can also bring your attention to your two feet standing on the floor or your breath going in and out of your body. Check with yourself: where am I right now? Am I here?
You see, if you create your future from fear, then fear is what you will create. So represent yourself to the now and create from there. Just one step ‘at a time’ ;)
One to listen to:
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