The Days Too Quickly Fly...

The Days Too Quickly Fly...

The way we measure time passing today is a human invention.

Genesis speaks of the 7 day creation, the sun, the moon and the seasons... 

And once man measured time by the passing of seasons, then more closely by the passing of moons and the creation of calendars.  And knowing when it was high noon was critical for the ancient mariners to determine their location and to find the Panama canal.



Now we measure it by the precise half life degradation of a piece of metal salvaged from the alien spacecraft which crashed at Area 51.

Which leads us to the age old question...which came first: the crash of the alien space craft or Area 51???

And maybe the awareness of objectively measuring time helps to understand one of the lesser known secrets of life, the theory of time control.



Measuring our actual time spent on Windy Hill versus our perception of time there is deceiving...

By the calendar it has been just over 4 months since we purchased the land and retired.  But in reality, since we've only had the Fox since mid October, it has been less than 60 days of full timing on Windy Hill.  And of that 60 days, 15 were spent off the Hill for a visit in Tulsa with Shaun and Melissa and then for Thanksgiving with Jennifer and Stephen...so maybe 45 nights in total have been spent on Windy Hill?




But our perception is that we've been there for a much longer period of time.

Looking back, we've had visits from Gary and Bern, Dee and Alison, Jennifer and Stephen.  We've brush hogged fields, cut trees and cleared some land, while enjoying a gob of spectacular bright sunny fall days with crisp, cool nights...some beautiful sunsets, memorable sunrises...and snow falls.

And it "feels like" we've been there for months, much longer time than actual calendar days, which is my segway for the theory of time control. 


My hypothesis is the perception of time passing is controllable based on our mental focus and capability to be present in the moment. 

While working in the old days, I frequently found the five days from Monday morning to Friday evening spent working on busy-ness produced lots of great success and measurable results...but time flew by in a heartbeat.  It was just "more of the same" with one week followed by another of sameness with new deadlines and critical due dates. 

And after spending the last 50 years of my life focused on work (counting a daily a newspaper route started while 11) it has been a blessing to have had the ability to provide and care for my family, but the years have seemingly flown by in the wink of time.


And yet in comparison, I've also experienced activities which required hyper-focus and being mentally present "in the moment" (meaning not lost in my head thinking about something from the past or planning some yet-to-occur future event) which have seemed to make the passing of time stand still and are some of the most calming, peaceful and re-energizing of experiences. 

One of the most dependable and repeatable "in the moment" activities for me, which seemingly transforms minutes into lifetimes is watercolor painting.

From the start, when I first picked up a brush, the greatest value of painting has not been from the completion of a finished piece of art to hang in a dark closet, but rather it has simply been the value received from "the doing"...from being consciously engaged and present in the moment.  The awareness from being present and in the moment is the most important element - and at the same time, the greatest benefit from painting.

It never really matters HOW a painting turns out, nor whether anyone else likes it, but the reward is simply from the clearing of the mind, making the monkey chatter go silent and making time stand still as part of the result from painting..."the doing" is a sufficient reward in itself.




For some, this focus may occur while baking bread, while quilting, reading, creating jewelry boxes, or stained glass windows...but it does seem that controlling the perception of time passing, of making time stand still, is directly related to doing creative activities.

Our just being on Windy Hill, and our focused actions to transform it into our vision of what it might be is another area that seems to make time stand still.

It has been easy to work on Windy Hill from early morning (after a pot of coffee!) to dark thirty, without once looking at the clock, getting hungry or being concerned about the passing of time...with a clear, quiet mind.




So the premise to control time, to slow the perception of time passing is by doing more creative activities, to be aware and in the moment focused on the task at hand, without distracting thoughts of the past or future competing for your attention...

Simply be present in the moment to make time "stand still".  Maybe doing creative activities can actually make us younger, not in years, but in mind set and outlook...

While this may all sound like Buddhist Zen-speak, I believe it is more accurately a reflection of God's nature in us.



He is the Great Creator, and we are created in His image...and measured time has no significance nor meaning to our eternal God...so maybe, just perhaps, our eternal spirit benefits most, and time is controlled most effectively, when we are focused on creating, of being present in the moment, and thinking about time less...


Just another view from Windy Hill...