And yet, we
often pretend that time does not matter, shrug it off or procrastinate when it
comes to our own relationship with it. We assume that time is money (which it is
not), whereas, like money, we often squander it on things that don’t really
matter when we ought to seize and squeeze each day and see and deem it as a
precious gift.
What would
be our best approach to time? Is it useful and beneficial to see it as a finite
resource and try to do and cram as much as we can within the limited time span
that we are given, i.e., living each day as if it were our last, or should we just
relax and take it in stride and not worry too much about it?
Interestingly,
I was planning to have two separate podcast interviews on each of those views
and wished to probe and explore them further. I was scheduled to speak with
Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
and to follow it up with Lisa Broderick and her book All the Time in the World: Learn to Control your Experience of Time to Live a Life without Limitations.
As it may
become apparent from the book titles, the first one is rather reductionist and
focuses on the limits and constraints of time and pushes us to make the best
out of the approximate 4000 weeks that an average life span affords us, whereas
the latter has a more expansive view of time viewing it as a string of eternal moments
and glimpses of infinity that we can learn to control and play with.
Although we
had scheduled interviews, neither of them showed up for reasons unknown. As
they did not take the opportunity to explain their own views - either because
they had too little or too much time on their hands - I will present my own thoughts
to you to the best of my knowledge and understanding; that said, I will
encourage both authors to schedule a meeting with me to set things and matters straight,
if need be, or just to confirm and reaffirm my theories.
The reason
I wanted to have them back-to-back was that we could all see and evaluate the
benefits and potential limitations of each view when considered and viewed side
by side. In fact, and grosso modo, Oliver’s view of time can be deemed
materialistic; we have one lifetime that we need to make the most of and that
is pretty much that. I would have liked to probe deeper into his philosophical
outlook and views, but I would not be too surprised if it had an atheistic bent
to it.
As time is
deemed limited and non-renewable, this can fill one with anxiety, existentialist
despair, and potential dread. Every choice in daily life would be undertaken under
a microscope to ensure that it is not wasteful and that it is indeed providing
the maximum amount of benefit and/or happiness to the given individual.
And yet,
there will also be the nagging doubt, the voice of unreason, questioning,
consciously or subconsciously, each choice of ours and putting it under a
magnifying glass. In fact, there may always be another better choice out there
than the one we have made, and this is the proverbial FOMO (fear of missing
out) that drives us toward not enjoying the present moment as we are constantly
aware of our mortality alongside a certain perceived but unspoken futility and
aimlessness to our time-constrained existence.
Incidentally,
Oliver may have canceled our speaking engagement because he had another and,
in his view, more productive and more promising event on his agenda, or it may
have been due to his underlying fear that I may probe him further in his views
and beyond his comfort zone, and hence exposing and bringing into the open what
he would rather have concealed and kept unaware of his own consciousness; of
course, there may also be a completely unrelated and different reason
whatsoever at play.
On the
other hand, the second one, Lisa’s view is quite spiritual in nature. Time is
not fixed; it is flexible and can be moved and shaped through and according to our
experiences and outlook. We are not just talking Einstein’s relativity here;
the book also freely quotes and references results and findings in quantum
theory to show how time is not merely linear ticking away in seconds and
minutes. This outlook has a spiritual base and does not see our life as
limited in space and time but rather as an expression, if not manifestation, of
another (or other) dimension.
I myself am
leaning toward seeing time not as fixed and limited. That does not mean nor
imply that we should not seize each and every moment, but the way and manner
Oliver is presenting our relationship with time, it looks and feels like it is
mostly driven by fear, anxiety, panic, and despair. It is like a death sentence
that is looming in the far away or close distance and it hangs above our heads and
all our decisions like the imaginary sword of Damocles.
Furthermore,
it is treating time as an accessory one has, and it is not unlike running a
business, or at the very least, it has a business-tinged outlook. Whereas the
CEO fills up his or her schedule with supposedly relevant and worthwhile
meetings and trips, we would take that approach and try to fill as many gaps as
possible and try so hard to avoid boredom and wasting time that we might just
end up losing our grip on the little time that we have and end up running
around when we should be relaxing and taking it all in and in a stride.
In Lisa’s
perspective what we get is a combination of metaphysics and quantum physics,
including quantum uncertainty and entanglement and a particular perception, distortion,
and manifestation of time with a spiritual nod, understanding, and
acknowledgment of our existence in spacetime. In the same way, time is relative,
our frame of mind and perspective decide and determine if an event is long or
short, fun, or boring, and this can be adjusted and changed if we become aware
of the process, an observer effect of sorts. Instead of seeing a task as
dreaded or dreadful, a shift in mindset and perspective could make the same
task interesting or challenging in its rather positive and curious sense of the
word.
But if like most of us, you always feel that you are rushed and busy and that time is
always lacking, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You would always be on
the run and on the go and would rarely find or have the time to do what is truly
best and beneficial for your body, mind, and spirit.
It often
comes down to how our brain processes information and the current state and
frame of mind. We spend most of our waking time in the beta brainwave mode where we are
constantly on alert and ready to deal with stress and challenges, and only once
in a while, do we give ourselves the time (!) and luxury to delve into, dwell
and settle in the more relaxed alpha brainwave.
Yet the
ideal state, according to Lisa, is focused perception, a trance-like
quasi-mystical state of mind with gamma brainwaves, which is a combination of
various brainwaves in which your mind is alert, but your body is relaxed.
We often designate the words and expressions “in the zone” and “flow” to this
state that is razor-sharp and free from worry or panic. Athletes are familiar
with this, but we also experience it when we are deeply focused on a task that
fully absorbs and engages us. Often this turns out to be what we love to do in
the first place; however, we are not just purely taking time off, daydreaming,
and relaxing but are fully grounded in and aware of the present here and now.
In fact,
Lisa provides different exercises and practices to increase our awareness of
time and augment our mindful engagement with and within the present. Any
moment considered under the lens of mindfulness can last a very long time, and
it does then seem that time lasts longer and flows more slowly; if it
passes more quickly, it did so because we enjoyed our time.
Although we
have all the time in the world to enjoy the present moment, it is
important to note that our time is limited at the same time. It is however true
that time is not linear (although we may perceive it as such) but that it can
be stretched, manipulated, and yes, for a lack of a better word, transcended.
At the same time, it is not unlimited within our given lifetime, so both perspectives (and either perspective on its own) are equally right and wrong; the main thing is to enjoy life and seize the moment and not just let it pass by, while also not fretting or worrying too much about losing out or failing to fill every minute of the approximate four thousand weeks allotted to us. If you find ways of living in the zone or add bouts of mindfulness and higher awareness to your daily existence, you must be on the right path.
