When I'm retired there will be no clock. Time will cease to exist. I will do whatever the moment demands and be carefree... at least, that's the dream.
I'm that guy who's never late for anything, signs up for or jumps in on lots of things, is an extrovert who loves to hang out with people. My strategy for staying present in my activities — whether I'm reading, writing, or conversing — is simple: I just set a timer on my watch or phone. Then I don't have to be thinking about or worrying about the next thing, and I can stay focused on and present in the moment.
I was talking about something similar the other day, but it was the tension between being in the moment and living in capitalist society. We want to enjoy where we are now, but we need to make money to either maintain that place or arrive somewhere better.
Same with creating art. I would write for writing's sake if I could, but I just took 4.5 years to write a book that has yet to break $1k in sales so... how can we balance our need to eat and have shelter with our desire to create something that makes us and others happy?
Sigh. Maybe it's a question for a different plane of existence.
I’m very similar. Very punctual. Always gauging time and how long something is going to take. And having a 2.5 year old means that that pull in many ways has just become stronger. (Getting her to daycare every morning, for example... holy s*!$ 🤣)
Every now and then I’m able to disengage from that default and be in the present. But it never feels like enough, and continues to be a work in progress. I feel like so much of it has to do with it being the sea we swim in; the impact of Western culture. Hustle. Push. Grind. Etc. Americans, in particular, especially when it comes to punctuality--I remember having an entire lesson on it in French classes in college, about how it isn’t uncommon in other cultures for someone to show up to a work meeting hours late because they were distracted by something on their way in.
I think you’re right though that the answer seems to be in being able to shift gears from one to another.
I’m in your camp. Always on time but frequently not enjoying the present enough. I was thinking about how weird it is that we can go backwards in time in space (re: photos from the first stars and galaxies) and it made me laugh thinking about an alien life force getting a glimpse of our planet and somehow seeing The Beatles get announced on stage. It made me feel a little more lighthearted about time.
I'm always cognizant of time and rarely present in whatever space I'm in. I'm distracted constantly and it's VERY DISTRACTING. My kids have started taking advantage of me by asking for things I would normally say no to, like video games or popsicles 20 minutes before dinner, because they can see I'm distracted by something. Normally, it's work - so technically I'm present there. But it's a struggle not to think about what I'm NOT doing when I'm doing something else. It never ends. There is no weekend or downtime for me. I'm always doing something while thinking about something else. It's not great. 😂😂 Sometimes I think I would benefit from taking a break from most things to focus on one. Even for just a week, but it's so against my programming to not be juggling, I just don't know how to do it. Can this become an advice column now? Because clearly, I need some. 😂
Mar 31, 2023·edited Mar 31, 2023Liked by J.E. Petersen
I love this topic! For all of my adult life, punctuality has been my Achilles' Torso.
We thinkers tend to conflate presence and calm. Presence isn't calm, or taking a breath, or closing your eyes, or stopping one clock. Presence has the same relation to planning and speed as to communing silently with a cat.
Presence is attending to the now, even if now means considering the symbols we've made up to make sense of a changing sky.
Absolutely fascinating thing to think about - been pondering for a few days and all I’ve determined is that I could improve in both, but being present seems harder for my brain
Boy, I live in this tension too ... I lean toward on time, my wife toward present. As for the new “format,” I’m all for it (but you might have known that, given the way I write)
When I'm retired there will be no clock. Time will cease to exist. I will do whatever the moment demands and be carefree... at least, that's the dream.
I just do mindfulness during the weekend and run on punctuality on weekdays.
I'm that guy who's never late for anything, signs up for or jumps in on lots of things, is an extrovert who loves to hang out with people. My strategy for staying present in my activities — whether I'm reading, writing, or conversing — is simple: I just set a timer on my watch or phone. Then I don't have to be thinking about or worrying about the next thing, and I can stay focused on and present in the moment.
I was talking about something similar the other day, but it was the tension between being in the moment and living in capitalist society. We want to enjoy where we are now, but we need to make money to either maintain that place or arrive somewhere better.
Same with creating art. I would write for writing's sake if I could, but I just took 4.5 years to write a book that has yet to break $1k in sales so... how can we balance our need to eat and have shelter with our desire to create something that makes us and others happy?
Sigh. Maybe it's a question for a different plane of existence.
I’m very similar. Very punctual. Always gauging time and how long something is going to take. And having a 2.5 year old means that that pull in many ways has just become stronger. (Getting her to daycare every morning, for example... holy s*!$ 🤣)
Every now and then I’m able to disengage from that default and be in the present. But it never feels like enough, and continues to be a work in progress. I feel like so much of it has to do with it being the sea we swim in; the impact of Western culture. Hustle. Push. Grind. Etc. Americans, in particular, especially when it comes to punctuality--I remember having an entire lesson on it in French classes in college, about how it isn’t uncommon in other cultures for someone to show up to a work meeting hours late because they were distracted by something on their way in.
I think you’re right though that the answer seems to be in being able to shift gears from one to another.
I’m in your camp. Always on time but frequently not enjoying the present enough. I was thinking about how weird it is that we can go backwards in time in space (re: photos from the first stars and galaxies) and it made me laugh thinking about an alien life force getting a glimpse of our planet and somehow seeing The Beatles get announced on stage. It made me feel a little more lighthearted about time.
I'm always cognizant of time and rarely present in whatever space I'm in. I'm distracted constantly and it's VERY DISTRACTING. My kids have started taking advantage of me by asking for things I would normally say no to, like video games or popsicles 20 minutes before dinner, because they can see I'm distracted by something. Normally, it's work - so technically I'm present there. But it's a struggle not to think about what I'm NOT doing when I'm doing something else. It never ends. There is no weekend or downtime for me. I'm always doing something while thinking about something else. It's not great. 😂😂 Sometimes I think I would benefit from taking a break from most things to focus on one. Even for just a week, but it's so against my programming to not be juggling, I just don't know how to do it. Can this become an advice column now? Because clearly, I need some. 😂
I love this topic! For all of my adult life, punctuality has been my Achilles' Torso.
We thinkers tend to conflate presence and calm. Presence isn't calm, or taking a breath, or closing your eyes, or stopping one clock. Presence has the same relation to planning and speed as to communing silently with a cat.
Presence is attending to the now, even if now means considering the symbols we've made up to make sense of a changing sky.
GO TEAM PUNCTUALITY!!! Also, curse you.
Well said, Jordan.
Absolutely fascinating thing to think about - been pondering for a few days and all I’ve determined is that I could improve in both, but being present seems harder for my brain
Boy, I live in this tension too ... I lean toward on time, my wife toward present. As for the new “format,” I’m all for it (but you might have known that, given the way I write)