The Speed of Time
February 22, 2023
Dear Allyson,
I have a question about the subject of time. I’m a 19 year old born in a very confusing time, and I just wanted to ask you this: As we age and our awareness expands, why does time tend to feel like it’s speeding up? Is it due to our growing self-awareness or just our overall awareness of the environment in which we live? I’ve heard that time is an illusion where the past present and future are one. When I was a you g kid, time felt very slow and I think that was much more enjoyable! But now as my responsibilities expand more and more, time seems to be thinning. Why is this?
Gregory
I have a question about the subject of time. I’m a 19 year old born in a very confusing time, and I just wanted to ask you this: As we age and our awareness expands, why does time tend to feel like it’s speeding up? Is it due to our growing self-awareness or just our overall awareness of the environment in which we live? I’ve heard that time is an illusion where the past present and future are one. When I was a you g kid, time felt very slow and I think that was much more enjoyable! But now as my responsibilities expand more and more, time seems to be thinning. Why is this?
Gregory
Gems 5 by Allyson Grey
Dear Gregory,
Why indeed?! As we get older, there doesn’t seem like there is enough time to do all we’d like to do. When we are younger, we mark the days on the calendar and the hours in the day until our time will be free and our own. We mark off the days until school is over for summer vacation or mark off the periods of our scheduled school day, anxiously anticipating when our obligations will have been fulfilled and we are free to play with friends and engage in the creative and leisure activities we long to pursue.
When I was 19, I found a place to learn how to meditate. Meditating for decades has been a tremendous boon throughout my life. It helps to calm the mind and to appreciate time. I’d recommend starting with just a couple of minutes of stillness sitting alone, possibly on a cushion on the floor. Saying a positive affirmation can keep the mind focused rather than thinking about worries and distracting thoughts. I recommend starting with the meditation words recommended by Ram Dass, an American meditation teacher - “I am loving awareness.” “I am” is what you breathe in, and “loving awareness” is what you breathe out into the world.
If you become interested in meditation, I’d be happy to share more fully, the practice that I use each day. It truly has become an important part of my life in coping with the speed of time.
In loving service,
Allyson
Why indeed?! As we get older, there doesn’t seem like there is enough time to do all we’d like to do. When we are younger, we mark the days on the calendar and the hours in the day until our time will be free and our own. We mark off the days until school is over for summer vacation or mark off the periods of our scheduled school day, anxiously anticipating when our obligations will have been fulfilled and we are free to play with friends and engage in the creative and leisure activities we long to pursue.
When I was 19, I found a place to learn how to meditate. Meditating for decades has been a tremendous boon throughout my life. It helps to calm the mind and to appreciate time. I’d recommend starting with just a couple of minutes of stillness sitting alone, possibly on a cushion on the floor. Saying a positive affirmation can keep the mind focused rather than thinking about worries and distracting thoughts. I recommend starting with the meditation words recommended by Ram Dass, an American meditation teacher - “I am loving awareness.” “I am” is what you breathe in, and “loving awareness” is what you breathe out into the world.
If you become interested in meditation, I’d be happy to share more fully, the practice that I use each day. It truly has become an important part of my life in coping with the speed of time.
In loving service,
Allyson
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