Eyes to See

I know you know the old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” The implication is that the opposite is true — that Time drags when you are not having fun.

Then we say that Time is relative. Happiness is fleeting and sorrow is long, no matter the objective markings of the stop watch. The renowned quantum physicist, Carlo Rovelli, explores Time in his book The Order of Time and demonstrates for us that Time itself does not exist.

Whatever the reality regarding Time, our inner state will dominate and create our external reality.

Caught in whatever distractions we find in our moments, especially those that are not happiness, real awareness is often lacking because we are preoccupied with out habits and our “suffering”. Eventually if we are lucky, whatever internal state we are in, we get a hint that the situation has already changed, as it does all the time. Change is the rule.

The subtleties of things changing are often particularly strong when referring to seasonal change. Recently, for me, one thing fitting together with another affirmed our sliding into Fall here in New Mexico. These hints have been tenuous, a reminder that the promise has been kept, a new season is upon us because our Earth has tilted a little more in its annual journey around our sun.

I’m a child of Autumn, my birthday falling at the beginning part of the season. Loving all the seasons to greater and lesser extent as I do, Fall is definitely my favorite and “my time of year!” Longing for release from torrid summer, the beginning expressions of Fall get a most joyful reception by me.

I am fond of stories and I particularly like mythology, folklore, fairy tales and fables. Ancient peoples all over the world were poetic in expressing their wisdom and understanding of the way things work through these entertaining and thought provoking stories. All cultures have tales of seasonal change and Change in general. Most of us are familiar with the Greek tale about Demeter and Persephone. The characters in these ancient stories often become what the psychologist C. G. Jung calls archetypes, universal symbols of an important concept. I often find myself referring to and echoing these personified concepts. Today’s poem is no exception.

“Eyes To See” came to me in an unexpected place at an unexpected time as most of the best gifts do. On this day I was distracted by a mind full of various and conflicting thoughts, “oughts”, “shoulds” and the ever present “to do list”. My Monkey Mind raced from one thing to another in a higgledy-piggledy manner until I finally escaped this stream of consciousness maelstrom as I reflexively glanced out the window next to my desk. Time stopped. This bodily response focused me into the present moment and I simply paid attention.The body never lies to you.

Change is the pattern of our lives. We are mostly unaware of its moment to moment activities as we are caught up in our focus on responsibilities, needs, and duties. When we do pause, amazing things happen as they did to me on the day I wrote the following.

I sincerely hope The Flow brings the changes you need and that you find the opportunity to acknowledge, embrace and welcome them. 

©Lou Liberty

Eyes To See