Time

Learning to slow down

The Present, we assume, is eternally before us, one of the few things in life from which we cannot be parted. It overwhelms us in the painful first moments of entry into the world, when it is still too new to be managed or negotiated, remains by our side during childhood and adolescence, in those years before the weight of memory and expectation, and so it is sad and a little unsettling to see that we become, as we grow older, much less capable of touching, grazing, or even glimpsing it, that the closest we seem to get to the present are those brief moments we stop to consider the spaces our bodies are occupy-ing, the intimate warmth of the sheets in which we wake, the scratched surface of the window on a train taking us somewhere else, as if the only way we can hold time still is by trying physically to prevent the objects around us from moving. The present, we realize, eludes us more and more as the years go by, showing itself for fleeting moments before losing us in the world's incessant movement, fleeing the second we look away and leaving scarcely a trace of its passing, or this at least is how it usually seems in retrospect, when in the next brief moment of consciousness, the next occasion we are able to hold things still, we realize how much time has passed since we were last aware of ourselves, when we realize how many days, weeks, and months have slipped by without our consent. Events take place, moods ebb and flow, people and situations come and go, but looking back during these rare junctures in which we are, for whatever reason, lifted up from the circular daydream of everyday life, we are slightly surprised to find ourselves in the places we are, as though we were absent while everything was happening, as though we were somewhere else during the time that is usually referred to as our life. Waking up each morning we follow by circuitous routes the thread of habit, out of our homes, into the world, and back to our beds at night, move unseeingly through familiar paths, one day giving way to another and one week to the next, so that when in the midst of this daydream something happens and the thread is finally cut, when, in a moment of strong desire or unexpected loss, the rhythms of life are interrupted, we look around and are quietly surprised to see that the world is vaster than we thought, as if we'd been tricked or cheated out of all that time, time that in retrospect appears to have contained nothing of substance, no change and no duration, time that has come and gone but left us somehow untouched 

An extract from “A Passage North” by Anuk Arudpragasam

I agree with Einsteins’ notion of the relativity of time. “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it's only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it's two hours.” As I get older I find more often than not that the days are getting shorter, minutes are fading away like seconds and being in the moment feels like trying to stand still in the white water rapids of time rushing past without being knocked off your feet and carried down river into the future. This is not a meladramatic piece on mortality or an analysis of how short life is, but rather an essay on a shift in perspective in regards to time.

Throughout life numerous people have highlighted to me how short and fragile life is. Emphasing to do things now and to work like there is no tomorrow. To “use time wisely”. I appreciate that. Life is borrowed time and its bound to run out. We should live everyday to the fullest and not procrastinate. However, for those young people who are naturally hard working, ambitious and driven, this perspective can and will lead to an inevitable burnout. I have both experienced and observed this phenomenon. When the day slowly wastes away with “nothing” to show for it. Panic sets in as the realisation dawns that I’m falling behind. As a result, the minutes of tomorrow have to be utilised even better, allocating purpose to every grain of sand in the hourglass—no time for rest. I’ll relax when I’m 6 feet under. Daily productivity reviews are standard to analyse where time was wasted—day in, day out. If I cannot tangibly recognise the productivity of something I spend time with/on its a waste.

I recently found myself reading a book in my usual evening reading time which I put in place to finish a book every couple of days to gain the most amount of knowledge I can. After 30 minutes of reading I put down the book and realised that I couldn’t really recall what I had just learned let alone read. I had rushed through the words, consuming the pages to be able to be done with the book to tick it off the to-do list and move on. I was being productive for the sake of productivity which in hindsight was not productive at all but rather a big waste of time. The act of being productive for the sake of productivity has become something all to common in young, ambitious people. The “make-it” anxiety is real. The fear of not accomplishing your goal, either at all or buy a certain age has led so many people to burnouts which have, for some, been unrecoverable. I felt the self made pressure of the Make-it anxiety for sometime, only in recent weeks being able to gain some perspective on the matter. On a backpacking trip through Sri Lanka, I met an Austrian guy with a laid back attitude that I could only dream of. As we were getting to know each other we realised our birthdays are within ten days of each other when he invited me to his birthday party. Igi pointed out a very simple truth to me which completely shifted my perspective on time. He, being forty years old in August, realised that if I live my entire life over I would be almost the exact same age as him. That really blew my mind. Me and Igi didn’t seem that different yet we were a whole life time apart from one another. The days after I moved on from chilling with Igi I realised that life is not short at all. It is much longer then we allow ourselves to believe. This was emphasised even more when shortly after that encounter I began reading Walter Isaacsons biography on Leonardo Da Vinci. As I explored in my recent post Timeless Lessons from Leonardo, Da Vinci is a prime example of how long a life actually is. The renaissance man was the antagonist of productivity with countless works unfinished. There are numerous accounts of Patrons trying desperately to get Leonardo to start, continue or finally finish his works which often for them. These endeavors were most commonly unsuccessful or would lead to legal action being taken by his sponsors. Yet the Florentines achievements are vast, his discoveries are many fold and we remember him as an Icon of superhuman status. I believe that can primarily be attributed to his ability to Marinate.

The young generation of today, unlike Da Vinci, has many challenges that make marinating difficult. Social media and the internet emphasises how successful, strong and good looking everyone else is and how we are not. In addition, we are reminded on a daily basis that are planet is burning and we’ll all be dead before we’re thirty. No wonder we feel the need to be as productive as possible! Lastly, the biggest challenge to slowing down time is Consumerism. According to an article published by the BBC, “In the course of a day, the average person in a Western city is said to be exposed to as much data as someone in the 15th century would encounter in their entire life.” Let that sink in. Moreover, thats just one form of products we consume on a daily basis. Add to the data all the food and drugs we consume and we can understand why we feel Fried at the end of the day.

For the well being of our body and mind but also for the quality of our life we must slow down, savouring time like it was a 300$ meal, marinating in all the flavours and emotions every moment evokes. It is far easier said than done, as we have to fight against the hungry ape inside. But it is far better than the alternative, being a passenger to ones own life watching as life tops out at 400 km/h before hitting a brick wall. Einstein said the only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. Ironically, everything seems to happen at once because we feel the pressure of time weighing on us.

How do we slow down ? I found that the answer is a mix between physical and mental shifts. Physical shifts mean reduce how much you consume. Obviously getting rid of some things like drugs and social media alltogther would be best but that is easier said than done. Reducing the time we expose ourselves to these products is definitely necessary. Mental Shifts means firstly, reevaulting how we choose to spend our time. Secondly, recognise that life is long and time will be abundant if you appreciate it.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”- Ferris Bueller

Watch this of you ever feel the make it anxiety…