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| James Tissot: Wikimedia Commons |
I suffer from a strange malady.
I am a "time" glutton.
Let me explain:
I have to force myself to be generous with my time. (Notice the "my" that comes before time.) And it doesn't come easily for me.
See, I like to cram as much as I can into as little time as possible so that each moment is ready to explode like a volcano because it is stuffed beyond its capacity.
In other words, I have a tendency to multi-task. Multi-tasking robs me of my peace and makes me feel as if I am rushing through life and using my time unwisely. And that is exactly what I am doing. I know it, I fight against it...and still catch myself stuffing each moment with too many things. Too much thinking, too much activity.
A wise use of time is to focus on the task at hand. To give it your full attention and live in the present moment.
Sadly, I often don't even notice the present moment because I'm too busy overfilling it.
Just sayin'.
It's okay if you think this is an odd thing to post about.
I think so too.
I know what you mean. I've started leaving my watch at the bank to save time.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that the border line between the past and the future is infinitessimal? In fact there is no present. The past is a spilt second ago. As soon as you think about it it is gone. And the next split second from the future comes along and quickly it is in the past. So in fact we have no present. And what's the point of having a birthday party with no presents?
It says in the Bible that to God a day is like a thousand years. Time to Him is different. It didn't half cause confusion to Moses when he was asked to get up the mountain "tomorrow" to get the Ten Condiments. He didn't know whether to go in 24 hours or in a thousand years time.
I can't multi-task at all. The last time I came down the stairs whilst reading my texts I fell down and tumbled all the way to the front door. I was asked if I'd missed a step. i said: No, I hit every one of them!
I think this comment has been a waste of time, as it did not add to your conversation anything of interest. But then ... If I only had time ... only time ... (Good song)!
God bless.
Lol...you have a point there, Victor! But does that mean there is no present or that there is really (underneath it all) ONLY present? I ask this because there is no time in heaven, right?
DeleteHow confusing ;) It rattles my poor brain! Speaking of brain, isn't that how the song goes? "If I only had a brain..." I'm not sure what song you are referring to unless it's this one. I need a melody to go with the words :)
Hi Mary,
DeleteIn reality, in this world, there is NO present. No matter how finely we measure time - say: 0.000000000001 of a second. The moment that fraction of a second has passed it is in the past, and the next fraction, which was in the future, has come along, and as quickly has passed into the past.
I don't know about time in Heaven though. They say it goes on for ever into eternity, which suggests that it must be going on rather slowly. If this is the case, then it would take for ever for your soup to cool down. Lunch must take ages. Which must be Purgatory if it is lentil soup and you don't like lentil soup. Who ever invented lentil soup anyway?
As for the song - here's the one I meant. The lyrics are so good. I hope you like the video I made ... took me ages ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDkeQvsGyKU
God bless.
Oh good, that means I'm not as much of a procrastinator when it comes to matching socks as I thought I was. After all, the thought did cross my mind that I should tackle that job right now but it quickly passed into past and we shouldn't dwell on the past, right? And of course, the future has not yet happened so there's no sense in worrying about our sockless feet just yet...
Delete(Anything to avoid matching socks. Anything. Which reminds me of how much I like your idea of socks coming in sets of threes or more...)
Hey maybe we should clue Anabelle on the fact that there is no present so she can avoid sorting the laundry indefinitely!
So, if there is no present then time doesn't really exist, right? Either that, or we don't really exist. And since I don't exist right now there is no sense in worrying about sockless feet.
Victor, let's hope someone doesn't visit my blog for the first time today because after reading what I just wrote I can rest assured they won't be back ;)
Not that they could visit my blog in the present anyway, of course. Lol.
Is this song another one of those seaside songs with the thin lady in deep danger of being knocked over by the "portly" man with the ten foot belly by any chance? Okay, I'll go check it out :)
Victor, it wouldn't let me listen to it. I'll try again in a while. I see it's a Fr. Maple song!
DeleteSorry the song did not work. It's OK now on my side of the pond. Maybe something is wrong with You Tube. Yes, it is a Father Ignatius song. I have also put it on my Google + site (I don't know if you're on Google +). Here's my address: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107136891260247542991/posts/p/pub
DeleteNow ... about time. You're right in that the present does NOT exist. If we measure time to its smallest measure then as it passes the future is quickly in the past. So when you sort your socks (threes or twos - doesn't matter) you're always sorting them in the future and past simultaneously because as soon as you start an action it has quickly happened and it's in the past.
I don't know who Anabelle is. But she can do her laundry in the future and past simultaneously too. Every little action we take has already happened as we do it. Hence, we DO actually exist but not in the present.
The reason we believe there is a present is because we measure time much slower than it actually happens. We measure in seconds, minutes, hours, days and years. But in reality time is instantaneous. Like clicking a fast camera. Future, past, future, past ... very very quickly. No present.
I wish someone would buy me a present !!!
God bless.
That's funny, Victor! Thank you for being a past and future visitor on my blog...lol.
DeleteYes, I am on Google Plus - thanks for the link! I'll pop over there in a bit!
Anabelle is a good blogging friend of mine at Written by the Finger of God. She doesn't like to sort laundry. Neither do I, actually ;)
Even though I'm laughing out loud at your last 2 sentences, I am quite struck by this post. Finally, I have a diagnosis for my malady! And how many moments have I not noticed because I was too busy overfilling them. ?? Oh yeah, I understand...
ReplyDeleteOh, you have it too? Well, I can see that I'm in good company :)
DeleteThis is so true to our lives these days. I've noticed that when I ask people how they are doing, they all seem to reply, "Busy." I wonder how much we miss out on being so busy? Thanks for the diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen,
DeleteYeah, everyone DOES seem busy! And we miss out on a lot I bet! I've always wondered what would happen if I scaled my life down to the necessities only - would I be happy or miserable? (Uhmm...don't answer that, okay?)
Mary, this isn't odd, this is me. This weekend I felt myself so out of whack because like you said I was multi-tasking, so much on my plate. So on Sunday, I said I'm going to Mass and reading spiritual books that's it. I'm not opening the internet, going anywhere or sorting laundry. It was awesome. Maybe that's why its the third Commandment.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It makes me feel "out of whack" too! Heh,heh...I can tell you don't like sorting laundry by your comment - funny how you threw that one in there ;)
DeleteGluttony can creep its way into just about anything-even time. I think when I stop (and take the time)to remember that time is a gift from God, I also remember to slow down a bit even if its just a few seconds to thank God for those few moments. Our culture as with most things works against this. The world sees it as a good thing to be doing any number of things at one time.
ReplyDeleteSo no, Mary-not a strange thing to post about :)
Thanks for reminding us how precious time is.
I like how you worded that, Karin. My mind pictured God handing us the gift of time and us pausing to accept the gift :) I like that! We wouldn't use it so unwisely if we thought of it this way. Thanks for the "timely" words!
DeleteHi Colleen,
ReplyDeleteFunny! And here I was thinking no one would know what I was talking about!
Reading these comments, I realize there's something to be said for sacred pauses, isn't there? Unfortunately, I don't always take the time or even remember to do this. Well, sticky notes WERE created for folks like me...
ReplyDeleteHi Mary! I'd say from all the comments, this wasn't an odd thing to blog about at all! And I do love the idea of 'sacred pauses'. Even God the Father took a day off, so I think I should arrange that for myself.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty good at driving myself crazy with over scheduling. And that's just in my thoughts! I think we all need the permission to take a break. Great post!
Ceil
Hi Ceil,
DeleteI guess it wasn't :) Nice to know that I belong to a whole "time stuffing" pack! Makes me feel a bit better. You know, misery loves company and all that (wink, wink).
Mary, thank you for addressing this failing. It seems like if we give our full attention to even a minor thing, it feels like we have accomplished something. But if we scurry around trying to do it all,...well, you know...
ReplyDeleteAloha Esther :) As much as I may kid around in my comments it really IS a failing and one I've been trying to get rid of for years. This kind of mindless over-activity tends to be closely related to sloth/acedia though it's tougher for people to recognize it as that. People tend to look at it as a GOOD thing like a hard work ethic but it's nothing of the sort. It's simply a Deadly Sin in disguise.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting :)
Mary, check my blog, I have a good quote for you. :-) Mahalo!
ReplyDeleteOkay, be right there!
ReplyDeleteTime is so precious! Especially girl young wives and mothers! Hang in there. Breathe. Peace will follow. Give it to God. He'll take care of you!
ReplyDeleteHi Mallory,
ReplyDeleteIt sure is! Young mother? No, not me - I had Michaela quite late, actually. I just have a rather babyish face. Hated it when I was young because I always looked like a teenager but was thankful once I hit the forties!
Not odd at all. I feel the same way quite often! Thank you for a reminder to slow down.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless.
Thanks for giving me an inspiring start to my day! It is nice to know when we are not alone. I too struggle with time management always seen to have tons to do yet the stress robs me of a sense of accomplishment especially when I've been stingy with my time to get that said accomplishment. I guess I need to let go and trust God to show me what's really important especially when it comes to Kingdom work which is really why we're all here right? Have a blessed day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Michael and SPF!
ReplyDeleteSPF, I can relate to your words here!
Mary, I used to multi-task and cram like you. I had forgotten all my early spiritual training about living in the present moment which just about every saint I've ever read says important for the spiritual life. Fortunately God allowed my physical limitations to slow me way down so I can do what He asks. It's also taught me patience.
ReplyDelete