Time Is Now

The Time is Now

 

I have been thinking a lot about this phrase lately; mainly because I feel as if my life has been overtaken by time.

 

That sounds a bit strange, because, yes, time is essentially what makes up our lives, so allow me to explain.

 

I am a very task oriented person who loves check lists and has to feel productive in order to feel successful with my time. Thus, the reason why I feel the need to check the time ALL the time. It’s like time is what runs my life and everything on my to-do list has a designated time and I’m constantly thinking of what I have to do in the next time slot, or how much time is left in the present.

 

But that’s exactly what I seem to be missing – the present.

 

I’m honestly sick and tired of being so consumed by the clocks around me; controlled by the ticking hand all day.

 

And that is why I keep trying to tell myself; “the time is now”.

 

Anytime I ask out loud or in my head, I’m beginning to make a conscious effort to be present and grateful for the moment I’m in.

 

Because truthfully, my life is pretty awesome right now. In the eyes of the outside world I am one of those professional basketball players who goes to training and comes home, eats some good food (maybe), then binge watches Netflix all day, and occasionally goes out with friends, but actually; I think it’s way better than that – I get to come home and write. And truth be told, time doesn’t exist when I’m writing. Writing is where I find my true flow. Obviously, I have to set time limits, but I love to get lost in writing.

 

So that’s a dream of mine, but really everything about this life I’m living is a dream of mine. There’s really not anything I have to do that I dread – not even laundry and dishes, because I know I can listen to awesome podcasts. But somehow, no matter how much I love something, I am overtaken by thoughts of “what’s next?”.

 

Even with basketball (and no judgment allowed here, because I have yet to meet a basketball player who does not ask “What time is it?” during a training haha) Seriously, I love being in the basketball gym, and even find myself in flow a majority of the time. But even with my recent basketball training, I have caught myself thinking, “What’s the time?” …and for what? I don’t have anything to rush off to (most of the time); I don’t have anyone I have to check in with; my husband is generally right there with me for goodness sake. 

 

So, I began asking myself, “why are you asking, ‘what’s the time?’?”

 

And there really wasn’t any good reason. Even more, what I realized is that by asking that, I’m actually doing a disservice to myself by taking myself out of the present moment (maybe even creating anxiety over tasks I am incapable of doing anything about in that moment) and overlooking all there is to be grateful for around me in that moment.

 

And that’s where “the time is now” comes in for me… Anytime I ask what time it is, I remind myself, “the time is now” and try to take in my surroundings; as if inhaling the feeling of gratitude.

 

Imagine being given a water break in a training and not going to look at your phone to check the time, but instead reflecting on what just took place; making eye contact and connection with the teammates and coaches around you and truly being able to look back at the memory of those moments and faces knowing that instead of constantly worrying about the time, you chose to take advantage of the truly miniscule amount of time given to you.

 

To me, being able to look back and remember moments like that also builds upon my present gratitude. But if we’re constantly living outside the present moment, we literally give zero time to gratitude.

 

So remember, “What time is it?”

 

“The time is now.”