Time & Attention – An Intro To Mindfulness

Time and energy are the fundamental resources we have in this existence. We spend our time acquiring energy to exist, and we spend our energy to experience what time can give us. We spend our time surviving, providing for ourselves, our loved ones, and improving the quality of our experience in this reality. Time is the currency we will focus on in this segment, as it is a more valuable asset than money.

Many of us in our fast-paced modern world feel as though we never have enough time to get everything done. We find we do not have the quality of time to spend with our loved ones and we often feel there’s also not enough time to fulfill our goals and deepest desires.

Time is not only life’s inherent currency, but it is also the space in which we live out our experiences. Our experiences then, are products of our choices we make and when we make the choice to invest (or waste) time on an activity, we are ‘spending’ that currency, thus perpetually altering our account balance of life.

Ultimately, the balance in our account is the result of our life choices, which reflects whether we have invested our time wisely or wasted it frivolously. At the end of the day, regardless of circumstance, we still remain ultimately accountable for what and who, we have spent our time on, and then must live with the results we are left with.

In reality though, time is only an illusion, created by our physical experience and interpretation of reality. The truth is, there is only this present moment. Being fully mindful of this present moment, while both gaining wisdom from the past, and planning to apply this wisdom to our future choices, is the best utilization of time. Unfortunately we often waste the present moment on things that steal our attention and focus, such as sorrows, traumas, and regrets of the past, as well as the stresses, worries, and anxieties of the future. All the while missing the opportunities that pass us by in the present moment. Other things that waste our time are the many meaningless distractions that add no value to our account’s bottom line, diverting us away from our goals and decreasing the quality of our experience and the potential possibilities of banking on one’s wisest use of time. These can take the form of time wasting activities like types of entertainment that dull the mind and distract us in our personal life, as well as the ever common destructive habit of over-thinking. These are examples of a general lack of awareness.

We all need fun and entertainment to feel alive but the question I beg you to ask yourself is, what kind of entertainment are you engaged in and how much time do you spend on it? I am not one to judge other people’s tastes, as a former musician I enjoy indulging in various forms of entertainment, I’m just trying to get you to analyze what you spend your time and attention on and to ask yourself if those things bring true value to your life.

There are many things in our culture that distract our attention away from what’s important. Amusements and entertainment that do a better job at distracting us than making us truly happy.

Entertainment and amusement are good experiences, we need them to be happy, but are we over indulging in it? They are experiences that have the ability to prevent your mind from critically thinking about what is taking place within the psyche, within the self, as well as preventing us from paying attention to what’s going on around us.

Most people work, and the stress of work can cause us to want to escape during our time off and indulge in various activities to take our minds off of stress and to “unwind”. This is one of the areas that become time spending traps. Think if there are things you can unwind and relax doing that also are in tune with personal growth.

What are you doing to invest in yourself and enhance the quality of your experience? How much time will pass before you take your current state of awareness and development to the next level? Where are you placing your focus? What are you getting back in return for the investment of focus?

These are questions that we need to ask ourselves and be mindful of.

Awareness of the present moment is important. When we are unaware, many things in life can be hidden in plain sight. Another way of looking at it is that things can be simply hidden in time because our awareness is not focused on the Now, causing us to overlook many details. The average human life span is a blink of an eye in the cosmic perspective, but our choice of how we spend our limited time in this life can feel like an eternity of boredom and misery or, in contrast, it can be filled with excitement and accomplishment. Experiences can pass us by quickly, or we can savor them by focusing our attention on the things that enhance the quality of our experience and productivity. We are the architects of our collective experience.

Everyday you’re given a deposit of 86,400 seconds to waste or invest. Time is currency, so PAY attention to what you SPEND you’re time on.

Change is the one thing in life that is guaranteed, it is going to happen whether you like it or not. The question that remains at the core of all of this is, what type of change do you want in your life? How can you flow with and navigate the wave of changes that take you from A to B?

Bringing it back to the core of this message, Time (and energy) are the primary currencies you have to spend to enact change and to improve the quality of your experience within the string of events called your life, so you can live fully Now. How are you spending the 86,400 seconds you’re allocated each day?

How are you maximizing your work day and getting the most done as efficiently as possible?

What is stealing your time and attention both at home and at work?

What can you spend your time and attention on for better personal growth?