Fast. Slow. Colorful.

Time is an abstraction of eternity. A glimpse, for mortals, of what could be if we spend ours wisely in life.

— Dean Cavanaugh

The more desperately we want something to occur, the longer it seems to take. Time expands with our desire. We count the minutes waiting for the phone to ring, the storm to pass, or the plane to land. As though by clock watching, we can accelerate ourselves through uncomfortableness.

Ironically, we often experience the opposite sensation. The more we focus on that we wish to avoid, the more present we are to it. Like the proverbial rough tooth that draws the tongue, the obsessive thought grows and eclipses the thousands of other things that could hold, and even benefit from, our attention.

The reverse is also often true. When we delight in something, we fear its departure–like the gloom that descends on Sunday evenings. Time flies when we’re having fun or at least wishing it wasn’t passing. Again, this fear distracts us from the very experience we wish to prolong.

Why do we persist in this folly?

Both of these thought habits are efforts to avoid the beautiful, painful uncertainty of living in the moment. On the face, it seems like an effort to control time or manage it to our liking–going deeper reveals that living in the moment exposes us.

Without the distraction of an obsessive thought, we are bound to encounter a whole host of feelings…excitement, wonder, and joy…as well as, disappointment, hurt, and sadness. To avoid the painful emotions, we replay moments and relive outcomes. They don’t even have to be positive; they just have to be passed.

The problem, as you likely have guessed, is that we miss the joyful feelings by trying to manage the painful ones. Like a muted rainbow, we trade vibrancy for a dullish shadow.

Time is passing. Now. Don’t be afraid to enjoy the kaleidoscope.

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