A place called ‘No Time’

When I believe there is no time, I put things off. I move them out of the present moment into a place called ‘no time’, a place where things sit on long to-do lists but never get done. They can’t get done because they are in ‘no time’, held captive in fantasies and ‘big plans’  and ‘somedays’ just outside the edge of the present moment.

This kidnaps the present moment, hiding it over in ‘no time’ where everything happens later.

It kidnaps, also, my attention. Instead of standing at the center of my life and doing what is calling to be done-making the phone call or sending the email or finishing the final chapter of my book, when  think, “I have no time for this now,” I exile the opportunity into limbo.

Somehow, I still have the time to check Facebook and play Scramble and tweet about what I’m making
for dinner. So, certainly there was ‘time’ for all of that.

There was time to do so many things. Just not the things I really care about.

The truth is, all of my stories about ‘No Time’ are illusions – projections of the mind which is trying to distract me from the terror i feel when it is time to take action. 

• The terror that the phone call might actually lead to a relationship.
• The terror that the finished book might actually wind up published. And then what! Yikes!

Instead of facing this truth – and this terror – I fly off to the land of ‘no time.’  I abandon myself. I carry off the dreams I could be working toward; I ignore the relationships I say that I want to build. These people are sitting in the room beside me. Meanwhile, I am in ‘no time’, placing unrealized dreams on storage shelves.

This is what shadow activity looks like – it’s busy work, distraction. We hold our present time activities just outside the realm of now – close enough that they call to us, constantly, heartbreakingly – but not close enough to manifest in real time, this time, the only time that matters, the present moment.

This month, I have been practicing doing what I am guided to do in the moment. It is bracing work – requiring a faith that I didn’t know I had.

I train the mind to trust. I loosen the hold of my addiction to distractions that take me out of the present moment. I learn that the present moment is the only time–and the only place–when anything can get done.

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This week, I’ve loved so many things. Here are a few which I thought you might love, too.

“You cannot make them love you. You cannot make them understand you. You cannot make them forgive you. You cannot make them accept you. Respect you. Be faithful to you…” These are just a few of the 55 Things to Accept Right Now. A masterful, moving post from Elizabeth Potts-Weinstein. She wrote it in January but I am just catching up. Loved it. Learned from it.

 

Creating your own Mastermind Group – from Jennifer Louden  A Mastermind Group—the way we structure and nurture ours—has been one of the most important elements in Jen Louden’s business success and personal growth. She writes: “It’s not just about business. It’s far more about our hearts. About being willing to be vulnerable. To keep showing up, warts and all, saying, “I’m here, in that place, again.” We bring our blocks, our stuck places, our “Not this again!” whines and we get help.”

This looks absolutely beautiful. Fall back in love with your life, a new e-course, an intersection between creativity and mindfulness from Samantha Reynolds, the beautiful soul behind bentlily.

 

The Permission Slip, from Susannah Conway, offers such beautiful, open-hearted wisdom – and permission to simply be who you are. She writes: You are allowed to unfollow the people who make you feel bad, the ones who curate their lives like interior design magazines, whose day never seems to be filled with the dirty dishes of your reality. You are allowed to unfollow the old school friend who’s busy repopulating the world while you wonder if you’ll ever find love again and listen to the sound of your ovaries going moldy… (There’s more. You’ll love it. Go see.)

Where you’ll find me

In this video interview, on my own work, with Vanessa Anstee. (Please ignore my wet hair, if you can.)

In this blog post by: Alexandra Franzen on growing up and standing up. What gives YOU the authority?