Prisoners of Time
Why is it that time seems to slow down so much when we are waiting for something?
Each second seems to stretch for eternity.
What is it that causes it to fly by when we would prefer to savor each second, but stand still when we would prefer to rush past the moment so we can get to the other side?
It almost feels like time knows our deepest desires and does what it can to prevent us from ever getting what we want, i.e., more of what we call pleasure and less of what we consider suffering.
Is time even a real concept or just a made up four lettered word we use to measure how much we are suffering in a situation? Is the passing of time real or just an illusion?
If time is just a man-made concept that prolongs suffering, what can we do to stop this self-inflicted suffering?
How do we master time, so it no longer controls us in this way? Do things like meditation and spirituality enable us to be free of time? If we stop believing in time, will it then stop bothering us and just go away?
What if we eliminated time as a concept completely so that the word no longer held any meaning for us?
No more time to slow down or speed up. Nothing to experience in the future or the past.
All we would be left with is our immediate experience in any moment, and why would we need time to experience what we are already experiencing anyway?
There would be no idea of regretting the past or wanting things in the future. All of those ideas would be illusory as well.
What would be left is a way of living where everything was accepted as is without complaint or worry about past or future.
If this happened, would we become more peaceful and happier? More willingly accepting of the present moment with no desire to rush to be somewhere else?
What would life be like in this state? Would this be a better way to live than the way we live right now? And if so, how can we surrender to this better way of living?
How would we act in a world where there was no concept of time? Where everything just happened the way, it did and all of us were just witnesses to the unfolding of life?
Nothing would seem to happen faster or slower. There would be no more past or present or future, only the moment that was currently unfolding in front of us, the witnesses experiencing this moment.
The powerful feeling of impatience and restlessness that we mistake to be boredom could no longer exist. Boredom is only a word with no meaning of its own. With no more time or waiting, there would be no boredom or road rage or any of the other symptoms of suffering associated with time.
Is that what a life of meditation is - freedom from the illusion of time?
Would you be willing to let go of this one word, time, if it meant you could live in a world without suffering? And if you could, would you be willing to share how you did it so others could follow in your footsteps?
So, everyone could live in a world free of time and suffering?