Slowing the Onslaught of the River of Time — Daily Quote

It seems like 2020 started yesterday, and today I check my calendar to discover half a year swept away. July is living up to its reputation for hot, sun-soaked days, but the expected lazy summer lull is not materializing. Instead, crazy workloads, and increased family demands coupled with uncertain procedures for completing once-routine tasks, rule the day. The normal state of my mind is a constant barrage of busy-ness. Thoughts chatter incessantly. I plan the future, review past performances, plot new trajectories, and fret about what I might be forgetting.

Time rushes onward, we stress about the lack of time and wish we could slow its passage. However, research suggests we control our perception and how we experience time. When we engage in benign, semi-pleasant, routine tasks, we enter a mindless state, and time slips away without conscience awareness. Likewise, when we must complete boring, non-challenging tasks that demand close attention, we can experience time stretching into a never-ending waste of precious moments.

Researchers say the cure for both situations is to focus on the moment and allow your brain to become fully engaged in the task. The act of full engagement alters your perception, time slows and expands. Call it mindfulness, focus, awareness, zen, meditation, or whatever, we may reap significant benefits from more purposeful observations of the world.

How do you slow down?

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer